mushroom

Where does the word "mushroom" come from? It comes from Old French mousseron, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

Mushroom’s story begins in Old French: mousseron meant “mushroom.” An edible fungus, perhaps from mousse 'moss', though the source is uncertain. It reached English by 1500s as mushroom. Middle English musseroun was reshaped as if made of 'mush' and 'room'; in The Tempest (1611) Prospero speaks of elves whose pastime is to make 'midnight mushrumps'. Today, mushroom means a fungus with a domed cap on a stalk, often edible.

1. Stage 1 · Old French · 1200s mousseron "mushroom", an edible fungus, perhaps from mousse 'moss', though the source is uncertain.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1500s mushroom "fungus", Middle English musseroun was reshaped as if made of 'mush' and 'room'; in The Tempest (1611) Prospero speaks of elves whose pastime is to make 'midnight mushrumps'.