English

featherweed

From feather + weed.

A compound of feather + weed

Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’

…

Proto-Germanic *feþrō

Proto-West Germanic *feþru

Old English feþer

Middle English fethere ‘a wing feather’

Proto-West Germanic *weud

Old English wēod

Middle English weed

English weed

Today it means

noun The flowering plant Gamochaeta ustulata in the sunflower family.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / featherweed