Etymograph

English

fleece

Fleece comes from Middle English fles ‘a sheepskin or fleece’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *plews- ‘to pull out, pluck’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plews-1‘to pull out, pluck’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleusaz1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleus2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēos2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fles2‘a sheepskin or fleece’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1730fleece2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *fleus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English fleece
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1730, Allan Ramsay, [Act II, Scene IV]: “The Sun ſhall change, the Moon to change ſhall…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plews-Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *fleus‘to pull out, pluck’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleusazWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *fleusreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleusWiktionary, English fleecereconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēosWiktionary, English fleece
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flesWiktionary, English fleece‘a sheepskin or fleece’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1730fleeceWiktionary, English fleece. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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’

flea, 4 more

Today it means

noun Hair or wool of a sheep or similar animal.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fleece”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-West Germanic *fleus. 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 *plews- / fleece

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