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Origin and history of pollen

pollen(n.)

1760 as a botanical term for the fine, yellowish dust that is the fertilizing element of flowers (from Linnæus, 1751), earlier "fine flour" (1520s), from Latin pollen "mill dust; fine flour," which is related to polenta "peeled barley," and probably to Greek poltos "pap, porridge," and Sanskrit pálalam "ground seeds," but the ultimate origin is uncertain.

also from 1760

Entries linking to pollen

polenta(n.)

Old English polente, "a kind of barley meal," from Latin pollenta, polenta, literally "peeled barley," related to pollen "powder, fine flour" (see pollen), but the ultimate origin is uncertain. English later reborrowed it 19c. from Italian polenta (from the Latin word) for "porridge made of corn (maize)," a principal food in northern Italy, originally made from chestnut meal.

pollinate(v.)

"put pollen upon for the sake of fertilization," 1873, a back formation from pollination, or else from pollin-, stem of Latin pollen (see pollen) + -ate (2). Related: Pollinated; pollinating.

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pulp
c. 1400, pulpe, "fleshy part of a fruit or plant," from Latin pulpa "animal or plant pulp; pith of wood," earlier *pelpa, perhaps from the same root as pulvis "dust," pollen "fine flour" (see pollen). Extended to similar moist substances or masses by early 15c. From 1727 as "the
pulse
"a throb, a beat, a stroke," especially a measured, regular, or rhythmical beat, early 14c., from Old French pous, pulse (late 12c., Modern French pouls) and directly from Latin pulsus (in pulsus venarum "beating from the blood in the veins"), past participle of pellere "to push,
pulverize
early 15c., pulverisen, "reduce to powder or dust," from Late Latin pulverizare "reduce to powder or dust," from Latin pulvis (genitive pulveris) "dust, powder," which perhaps is related to Latin pollen "mill dust; fine flour" (and thus the other words under pollen), but de Vaan
stamen
"pollen-bearing organ of a flower," 1660s, from Modern Latin (1625, Spigelus), from Latin stamen "stamen" (Pliny), literally...
inseminate
applied to animals in precisely the same way as the word "pollenate" is applied by some botanists to denote the placing of pollen...
prose
c. 1300, "story, narration," from Old French prose (13c.) and directly from Latin prosa, short for prosa oratio "straightforward or direct speech" (without the ornaments of verse), from prosa, fem. of prosus, earlier prorsus "straightforward, direct," from Old Latin provorsus "(m
fairy
c. 1300, fairie, "the country or home of supernatural or legendary creatures; fairyland," also "something incredible or fictitious," from Old French faerie "land of fairies, meeting of fairies; enchantment, magic, witchcraft, sorcery" (12c.), from fae "fay," from Latin fata "the
mitigate
early 15c., "relieve (pain); make mild or more tolerable; reduce in amount or degree," from Latin mitigatus, past participle of mitigare "soften, make tender, ripen, mellow, tame," figuratively, "make mild or gentle, pacify, soothe," ultimately from mitis "gentle, soft" + root of
groom
c. 1200 (late 12c. in surnames), grome "male child, boy;" c. 1300, "a youth, young man," also "male servant, attendant, minor officer in a royal or noble household ranking higher than a page; a knight's squire." A word of unknown origin with no certain cognates in other Germanic
cipher
late 14c., "arithmetical symbol for zero," from Old French cifre "nought, zero," Medieval Latin cifra, which, with Spanish and Italian cifra, ultimately is from Arabic sifr "zero," literally "empty, nothing," from safara "to be empty;" a loan-translation of Sanskrit sunya-s "empt

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