Etymology

willow

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Today it means: Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus Salix, in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere. Full definition →

Middle English wilwe ← Old English weliġ ← Proto-West Germanic *wilig
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willow · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*welik-
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*wiligaz
  3. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*wilig
  4. Old English · derived fromweliġ
  5. Middle English · inherited fromwilwe
  6. English todaywillow

From Middle English wilwe, welew, variant of wilghe, from Old English weliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *wilig, from Proto-Germanic *wiligaz, from Proto-Indo-European *welik- (compare (Arcadian) Ancient Greek ἑλίκη (helíkē), Hittite 𒌑𒂖𒆪 (welku, “grass”)), from *wel- (“twist, turn”). Cognate to West Frisian wylch and more distantly (via Proto-West Germanic *wilgijā) to Dutch wilg and German Wilge.

Willow · proper noun2

From willow.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishweliġ all →

Willoughbywealy

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.