Where does “elm” come from?
elm (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic *elm, from Proto-Germanic elmaz, from Persian الماس, from Ancient Greek ἀδάμας, from Ancient Greek ἀ-, from Proto-Hellenic hə-, from Proto-Indo-European sm̥-, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.
elm (Old English): elm
Ancestry of “elm”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-West Germanic | *elm | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | elmaz | elm tree; wood from an elm tree |
| 3 | Persian | الماس | diamond |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | ἀδάμας | adamant, the hardest metal; a hard metal... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἀ- | The alpha privativum, used to make words that... |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | hə- | same; together |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sm̥- | one; with, together |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sem- | together, one |