English
flaxen
Flaxen comes from Old English fleaxen ‘of flax’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flahsą‘flax’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*flahs‘flax’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fleax‘linen, flax’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150fleaxen‘of flax’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flaxen
- Englishearliest quotation 2005same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flahsą‘flax’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*flahs‘flax’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fleax‘linen, flax’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150fleaxen‘of flax’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flaxen
- Englishearliest quotation 2005same form
Earliest quotation: 2005, Nathan J. Johnson, Robert J. Wallis: “In Snorri's Skaldskaparmal (see Faulkes 1998 [1987]: 96), Loki…”
Formed from flax + -en ‘made of’
Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to plait’
Proto-Germanic *flahsą
Proto-West Germanic *flahs
Old English fleax ‘linen, flax’
Middle English flax ‘Flax or its fibres’
English flax
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’
complex, apply, reply, display, employment, employ, explicit, exploitation, exploit, imply, deploy, replica, implicit, complication, fiasco, complicate, accomplice, ploy, ply, inexplicable, complicity, supple, implicate, plexus, pliable, supplication, flack, triplicate, pliant, explication, splay, flagon, 34 more
Today it means
adj Made of or resembling flax fibers.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- / flaxen