daffodil

the word 'daffodil' entered english in the mid-16th century, evolving from the earlier 'affodill'. this, in turn, came from medieval latin 'affodillus', believed to be a corruption of latin 'asphodelus', which denoted a similar plant. the initial 'd-' is likely a result of merging with the dutch definite article 'de', as in 'de affodil'. ultimately, the term traces back to greek 'asphodelos', a word of unknown pre-greek origin, referring to the mythical asphodel flower of the underworld. the journey from a classical mediterranean flower name to the specific modern english term for the narcissus species illustrates a process of folk etymology and phonological adaptation.

this word is a loanword adopted as a single unit into english. it does not contain productive morphemes from latin or greek that can be meaningfully segmented according to its modern english spelling.