English
vermicompost
Vermicompost comes from Latin vermis ‘a worm’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥mis‘worm’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wormis‘worm’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvermis‘a worm’
- Englishtodayvermicompost
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥mis‘worm’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wormis‘worm’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvermis‘a worm’
- Englishtodayvermicompost
A compound of vermi- ‘worm’ + compost
Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’
…
Latin compōnō ‘to arrange, compile, compose, make up,…’
Latin compositus ‘composed’
Old Northern French compost ‘a mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for…’
Middle English compost
English compost
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to turn, to bend’
wear, guard, ward, regard, garage, con, warn, beware, garrison, ware, weir, optic, panorama, verge, reverence, wry, revere, guaranty, diorama, prosaic, milliner, 68 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis ‘worm’
through Latin vermis ‘a worm’
vermilion, varmint, vermeil, vermicelli, vermiculite, 13 more
Today it means
verb To employ worms to break down organic waste into soil or humus
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis / vermicompost