Etymology

heather

heath·er
H4E1A1T1H4E1R1

Today it means: An evergreen plant, Calluna vulgaris, with spiky leaves and small purple, pink, or white flowers. Full definition →

Middle English hather ← Old English *hǣddre
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heather · noun, adjective1

  1. Old English · inherited from*hǣddre
  2. Middle English · inherited fromhather
  3. English todayheather

From Middle English hather, hathir, from Old English *hǣddre and hǣþ (“heather”), cognate with Scots hedder, hadder, heddir (“heather”), Saterland Frisian Heede (“heather”), West Frisian heide (“heather”), Dutch heide (“heather”), German Low German Heide, Heid (“heather”), German Heide (“heather”).

Heather · proper noun2

From heather; the given name is one of the plant names taken up in the 19th century. The surname is habitational, also meaning someone living on a heath.

Words from the same roots

Old English*hǣddre all →

hadder

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.