Etymograph

English

aphyllous

Aphyllous comes from Ancient Greek ἄφυλλος ‘leafless’, from φύλλον ‘leaf’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-1‘leaf, blossom, flower’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰol-yom1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφύλλον2‘leaf’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄφυλλος3áphullos‘leafless’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900aphyllus3
  6. Englishtodayaphyllous3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φύλλον
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄφυλλος
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English aphyllous

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φύλλον‘leaf, blossom, flower’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰol-yomWiktionary, Ancient Greek φύλλονreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφύλλονWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄφυλλος‘leaf’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄφυλλοςWiktionary, English aphyllousáphullos‘leafless’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900aphyllusWiktionary, English aphyllous
  6. EnglishtodayaphyllousWiktionary, English aphyllous

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ‘leaf, blossom, flower’

full, blood, blow, fool, flower, blade, bless, foil, bloom, bleed, floral, flora, blossom, flourish, folly, folio, ferret, fleur, florist, folic, flor, exfoliate, belladonna, 54 more

Today it means

adj Having no leaves; leafless.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “aphyllous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek φύλλον, Ancient Greek ἄφυλλος. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- / aphyllous

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