Etymology

ivy

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Today it means: Any of several woody, climbing, or trailing evergreen plants of the genus Hedera. Full definition →

Middle English ivi ← Old English īfiġ ← Proto-West Germanic *ibig
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ivy · noun1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(h₁)ebʰ
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*ibahs
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*ibig
  4. Old English · inherited fromīfiġ
  5. Middle English · inherited fromivi
  6. English todayivy

From Middle English ivi, from Old English īfiġ, from Proto-West Germanic *ibig, *ibag, *ibah, from Proto-Germanic *ibahs (compare West Flemish iefte, Low German Eiloov, Ieloof, German Efeu), from Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)ebʰ- (compare Welsh efwr (“black elder”), Ancient Greek ἴφυον (íphuon, “spike-lavender, Lavandula Spica”)).

Ivy · proper noun2

From ivy, the name of a plant. An ivy branch used to be hung outside an establishment to advertise that it sold alcohol, so it may originally been an occupationational surname for the proprietor of such an establishment.

Ivy · noun3

Ellipsis of Ivy League.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.