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daph·ne

(dăfnē)

Any of several Eurasian shrubs of the genus Daphne, often cultivated for their glossy evergreen foliage and clusters of small, fragrant, bell-shaped flowers.

[Latin daphnē, laurel, from Greek, probably from a Mediterranean substrate source akin to the source of Latin laurus (for the relationship between the sounds of the Greek and Latin words, compare dialectal Greek (Pergamum) laphnē and dialectal Greek (Thessaly) daukhna, laurel).]

Daph·ne

(dăfnē)

n.
Greek Mythology

A nymph who metamorphosed into a laurel tree as a means of escaping from Apollo.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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