lavender

Where does the word "lavender" come from? It comes from Medieval Latin lavandula, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Lavender’s story begins in Medieval Latin: lavandula meant “relating to washing.” Possibly from lavare (to wash), since the fragrant plant was used in washing water. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as lavendre. Carried into French for the fragrant purple-flowered plant. It reached English by 1300s as lavender. Settled as the English word for the plant and its pale purple color. Today, lavender means a fragrant purple-flowered plant, or the pale purple color named for it.

1. Stage 1 · Medieval Latin · medieval lavandula "relating to washing", possibly from lavare (to wash), since the fragrant plant was used in washing water.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval lavendre "the lavender plant", carried into French for the fragrant purple-flowered plant.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s lavender "a fragrant plant, or its pale purple color", settled as the English word for the plant and its pale purple color.