Where does “weed” come from?

Weed derives from Old English wēod, related to Old English weġ, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European weǵʰ-, a root meaning to move or carry.

weed (English): Any plant regarded as unwanted at the place...

Definitions

  1. Any plant regarded as unwanted at the place...

Ancestry of “weed”, step by step

weed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English weed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishweed—
2Old Englishwēodweed
3Proto-West Germanic*weudweed (unwanted plant)

via Scots weid

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Scotsweidweed

Words derived from “weed”

Every word from Proto-West Germanic *weud →Every word from Old English wēod →Every word from Middle English weed →