English
filicology
Filicology comes from Proto-Italic *feleks.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feleksreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1853filicology
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feleksreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1853filicology
Earliest quotation: 1853, [On the Classification and Nomenclature of Ferns]: “I think the same plan might be pursued in…”
The story
Filix is probably derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (‘henbane’) + Latin -ix (a variant of -ex (suffix found in plant names such as cārex (‘sedge’) and rumex (‘sorrel’))).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘henbane’
ball, bowl, bell, bull, flame, bold, bald, blaze, boil, bale, blush, blur, bleach, blizzard, budge, bolster, sabha, blemish, phlegm, phallus, bola, bolero, blain, blithe, phlox, bleat, 73 more
Today it means
noun The botanical study of ferns.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *feleks / filicology