English
fleece
Fleece comes from Middle English fles ‘a sheepskin or fleece’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *plews- ‘to pull out, pluck’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plews-‘to pull out, pluck’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleusazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleusreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150flēos
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fles‘a sheepskin or fleece’
- Englishearliest quotation 1730fleece
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plews-‘to pull out, pluck’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleusazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleusreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150flēos
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fles‘a sheepskin or fleece’
- Englishearliest quotation 1730fleece
Earliest quotation: 1730, Allan Ramsay, [Act II, Scene IV]: “The Sun ſhall change, the Moon to change ſhall…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *plews- ‘to pull out, pluck’
Today it means
noun Hair or wool of a sheep or similar animal.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *plews- / fleece