Etymology Map
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Mushroom

2 stages from Old French to English.

Today it means a fungus with a domed cap on a stalk, often edible

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

1
Stage 1 of 2
mousseron
Old French · 1200s
"mushroom"
an edible fungus, perhaps from mousse 'moss', though the source is uncertain
2
Stage 2 of 2
mushroom
English · 1500s
"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'
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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.