Where does “trefoil knot” come from?
trefoil knot (English) comes from English trefoil, from Middle English trefoil, from Old French trifoil, from Latin trifolium, from Latin folium, from Proto-Italic *foljom, from Proto-Indo-European bʰolh₃yom, from Proto-Indo-European bʰleh₃-.
trefoil knot (English): A knot formed by joining the two loose ends of a...
Definitions
- A knot formed by joining the two loose ends of a...
Ancestry of “trefoil knot”, step by step
trefoil knot traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English trefoil
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | trefoil | Any of several plants of the pea family, having... |
| 2 | Middle English | trefoil | — |
| 3 | Old French | trifoil | trefoil |
| 4 | Latin | trifolium | trefoil, clover |
| 5 | Latin | folium | a leaf; a petal; a sheet or leaf of paper |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *foljom | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰolh₃yom | leaf |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |