Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “silkwirm” come from?

silkwirm (Middle English) comes from Old English seolcwyrm, from Old English seolc, from Latin sēricum, from English serigraph, from Latin sericum, from Latin sericus, from Latin -icus, from Ancient Greek -ικός — -y, -ic.

Ancestry of “silkwirm”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishseolcwyrmsilkworm
2Old Englishseolcsilk
3Latinsēricum—
4Englishserigrapha silkscreen print made by serigraphy; an...
5LatinsericumChinese goods, but especially silk
6LatinsericusOf or pertaining to the Seres or the Chinese;...
7Latin-icusbelonging to; derived from; of or pertaining to;...
8Ancient Greek-ικόςof or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic
9Ancient Greek-κόςforms adjectives with the sense of 'of or...
10Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “silkwirm”

  • silkworm
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →