Where does “wallflower” come from?
wallflower (English) comes from English flower, from Middle English flour, from Anglo-Norman flur, from Old French flor, from Latin flōs, from Proto-Italic flōs, from Proto-Indo-European bʰleh₃-s, from Proto-Indo-European bʰleh₃-.
wallflower (English): Any of several short-lived herbs or shrubs of the...
Definitions
- Any of several short-lived herbs or shrubs of the...
Ancestry of “wallflower”, step by step
wallflower traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English flower
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | flower | A colorful, conspicuous structure associated with... |
| 2 | Middle English | flour | A flower; A depiction or likeness of a flower;... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | flur | Alternative form of flor |
| 4 | Old French | flor | flower |
| 5 | Latin | flōs | flower, blossom |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | flōs | flower, blossom |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃-s | flower, blossom |
| 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- | — |
via English Wall
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Wall | The Berlin Wall |
| 2 | Middle English | wall | Alternative form of wale |
| 3 | Old English | weall | wall; fervour; uproar; boiled or mulled wine |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wallaz | well, spring; wall, rampart, entrenchment |
| 5 | Latin | vallum | wall, rampart, entrenchment |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wēl- | to see, perceive |