English

fernroot

From fern + root.

A compound of fern + root

Proto-Indo-European *p(t)erH-

…

Proto-Germanic *farnaz

Proto-West Germanic *farn

Old English fearn

Middle English fern

English fern

Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds ‘root’

Proto-Germanic *wrōts ‘root’

Old Norse rót ‘root’

Old English rōt ‘root’

Middle English rote ‘underground part of a plant’

English root

Today it means

noun Pteridium esculentum, a plant of New Zealand.

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

Etymograph / fernroot