English

greenbug

From green + bug.

A compound of green + bug

Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to grow’

…

Proto-Germanic *grōniz

Proto-West Germanic *grōnī

Old English grēne

Middle English grene

English green

Middle English bugge ‘scarecrow, hobgoblin’

English bug

Today it means

noun The wheat aphid (Schizaphis graminum).

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

Etymograph / greenbug