Etymograph

English

foliose

Foliose comes from Latin foliō ‘leaf’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *foljom.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*foljom1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfolium1‘leaf’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfoliō2‘leaf’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2020foliose2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin folio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English foliose
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life: “Fruticose lichens drape and tuft; crustose and squamulose lichens…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*foljomWiktionary, Latin folioreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfoliumWiktionary, Latin folio‘leaf’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfoliōWiktionary, English foliose‘leaf’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2020folioseWiktionary, English foliose. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life: “Fruticose lichens drape and tuft; crustose and squamulose lichens…”

Formed from -ose

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dʰelh₁- ‘to well forth, spring forth’

lue, thallium, thallus, 5 more

through Latin folium ‘leaf’

foil, folic, exfoliate, exfoliation, 21 more

Today it means

adj Leafy or leaflike.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “foliose”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin folio. 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-Italic *foljom / foliose

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