Taxus
/ˈtæk.səs/noun
A genus of evergreen coniferous trees and shrubs, including the yew.
Did you know?The Latin taxus meant the yew tree, a plant so toxic and symbolically charged in Europe that it became linked with death, burial grounds, and the making of lethal arrows.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*teks-
“A reconstructed root meaning roughly “to weave, fabricate, make” is sometimes proposed in discussions of uncertain origins, but the etymology of taxus is not securely established.”
Latin
Latin
taxus
“The yew tree, especially the poisonous yew.”
Late Latin
Latin
taxo
“A yew tree or yew wood.”
Old French
Old French
tax
“Yew; yew wood.”
Middle English
English
taxus / yew
“The yew tree, later preserved in scientific Latin as Taxus.”