Where does “melon” come from?
melon (Middle French) comes from Old French melon, from Latin melonem, from Latin melopeponem, from Ancient Greek μηλοπέπων, from Ancient Greek πέπων, from Proto-Indo-European pékʷeti, from Proto-Indo-European pekʷ-, from Proto-Indo-European h₃-ép-kʷ-.
Ancestry of “melon”, step by step
melon traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French melon
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | melon | melon (fruit) |
| 2 | Latin | melonem | accusative singular of mēlō |
| 3 | Latin | melopeponem | A type of pumpkin |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | μηλοπέπων | melon, "Cucumis melo" |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πέπων | ripe, softened; good, sweet, kind; weak, cowardly |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pékʷeti | to be cooking; to ripen |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pekʷ- | to cook; to ripen |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃-ép-kʷ- | — |
via Late Latin melo
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | melo | Some cucurbit, likely an apple-shaped melon |