pollen

Where does the word "pollen" come from? It comes from Latin pollen, and was adopted directly into English (1760s).

Pollen’s story begins in Latin: pollen meant “fine flour, fine dust.” Literally fine flour, mill dust. It reached English by 1760s as pollen. Latin 'fine flour'; Linnaeus applied it to flower dust in 1760. Today, pollen means the fine powdery substance produced by flowers, containing male reproductive cells.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient pollen "fine flour, fine dust", literally fine flour, mill dust.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1760s pollen "the fine powder produced by flowers for reproduction", Latin 'fine flour'; Linnaeus applied it to flower dust in 1760.