eyelash

The word 'eyelash' is a transparent English compound formed from two native Germanic elements. The first element, 'eye', descends from the Old English ēage, tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root okʷ-, meaning "to see," which also gave rise to Latin oculus. The second element, 'lash', originally referred to the flexible end of a whip, a meaning that emerged in Middle English, likely of onomatopoeic origin. By the mid-18th century, 'lash' was applied figuratively to the short, delicate hairs fringing the eyelid, creating the compound 'eyelash' to precisely denote these hairs by their location and whip-like appearance.

Structure: eye (organ of sight) + lash (a short hair) - eye: From Old English ēage, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch oog and German Auge, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin oculus. The functional role is the base noun, specifying the location. - lash: From Middle English lasche, perhaps imitative of the sound or motion of a whip. Its functional role is the modifying noun, specifying the type of hair.