spore

Where does the word "spore" come from? It comes from Greek sporos, and was adopted directly into English (1836).

Spore’s story begins in Greek: sporos meant “a seed, a sowing.” A sowing, a seed, from speirein (to sow). It reached English by 1836 as spore. Greek 'sporos', seed or sowing. Today, spore means a small reproductive cell produced by fungi, ferns, mosses, and some bacteria.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient sporos "a seed, a sowing", a sowing, a seed, from speirein (to sow).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1836 spore "a reproductive cell of fungi, ferns, or mosses", Greek 'sporos', seed or sowing.