Etymograph

English

sowbread

From sow + bread, so named because eaten by swine.

A compound of sow + bread

Proto-Germanic *sugō

Proto-West Germanic *sugu ‘sow (female pig)’

Old English sugu ‘sow (female pig)’

Middle English sowe ‘a sow’

English sow

Proto-Germanic *braudą

Proto-West Germanic *braud

Old English brēad ‘fragment’

Middle English bred ‘bread’

English bread

The story

From sow + bread, so named because eaten by swine.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Today it means

noun Cyclamen, plant of the genus Cyclamen.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sowbread”. 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 / sowbread

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