Where does “plum” come from?
plum (Middle English) comes from Middle English plomme, from Middle English plumtre, from Old English plumtreow, from Old English trēow, from Proto-West Germanic treu, from Proto-Germanic trewą, from English doru, from Ancient Greek δόρυ — hard, firm, strong, solid; hard, fast; tree.
plum (Middle English): Alternative form of plomme
Definitions
- Alternative form of plomme
Ancestry of “plum”, step by step
plum traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English plomme
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | plomme | plum; plum tree |
| 2 | Middle English | plumtre | A plum tree or a similar tree |
| 3 | Old English | plumtreow | plum tree |
| 4 | Old English | trēow | tree, wood, timber, beam, log, stake, stick,... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | treu | tree; wood |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | trewą | tree |
| 7 | English | doru | Alternative form of dory |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | δόρυ | wood, tree, stem; spear shaft, spear, lance,... |
| 9 | Proto-Hellenic | dóru | tree |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dóru | tree |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | drew- | hard, firm, strong, solid; hard, fast; tree |
via Anglo-Norman plume
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anglo-Norman | plume | feather; plume |
| 2 | Latin | pluma | feather, plume; metal scale of armor; beard-down |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | plouksmā | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | plúnksneh₂ | feather |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | plú-n-k- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | plewk- | to fly, flow, run; to splash, to flap with hands |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | plew- | to fly, flow, run |
via Anglo-Norman plum
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anglo-Norman | plum | lead", "sounding lead |