Etymograph

English

handflower

From hand + flower.

A compound of hand + flower

Proto-Germanic *handuz

Proto-West Germanic *handu

Old English hand

Middle English hond

English hand

Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ‘to thrive, bloom’

Proto-Italic *flōs ‘flower’

Latin flōs ‘flower’

Anglo-Norman flur

Middle English flour ‘a flower’

English flower

The story

Chiranthodendron pentadactylon is so called because its flowers resemble five-fingered human hands.

Today it means

noun A Mexican hand tree (Chiranthodendron pentadactylon).

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

Etymograph / handflower