mullein

The story

1. Latin · derived frommollis“soft”
2. Proto-Celtic · derived from*melinos“yellow”
3. Anglo-Norman · derived frommoleine
4. Middle English · inherited frommoleyne
5. English todaymullein

From Middle English moleyne, from Anglo-Norman moleine, which is either a Celtic borrowing and derived from Proto-Celtic *melinos (“yellow”) from *meli (“honey”) – an adjective found in Breton melen (“yellow”) and Welsh melyn (“yellow”) – or from mol (“soft”), from Latin mollis (“soft”), referencing the plant's fluffy, downy leaves, also apparent in synonyms such as feltwort, flannel leaf, and velvet plant.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 14th c. Any of a few hundred species of European and Asian plants, of the genus Verbascum, especially that majority that have yellow flowers.