mushroom

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*mews-“mosses, mold, mildew”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*musą
3. Old Dutch · derived from*mosa“moss”
4. Frankish · derived from*mosu“moss”
5. Old French · derived frommosse
6. Old French · derived frommoisseron
7. Anglo-Norman · derived frommusherum
8. Middle English · inherited frommuscheron
9. English todaymushroom

From Middle English muscheron, musseron, from Anglo-Norman musherum, moscheron, from Old French moisseron, of obscure origin: probably derived from Old French mosse, moise ("moss"; whence also French mousse), as the use first applied to a type of fungus which grows in moss, from Frankish *mosu (“moss”) or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), akin to Old High German mosa (“moor, swamp”), Old High German mos (“moss, bog”), Old High German mios (“moss, mire”), Old English mēos (“moss”), Old English mōs (“bog, marsh”), Old Norse mosi (“moss”), Old Norse myrr (“bog, mire”), from Proto-Germanic *musą, *musô, *miuziz (“mosses, bog”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“mosses, mold, mildew”). Displaced native Old English swamm. More at mire. Alternatively, the Old French may be of pre-Roman origin. See Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs, “mushroom”). Doublet of moss and mousse.

Words from the same roots