parsley

the word 'parsley' has a long journey through languages, arriving in english via old french from its latin and greek ancestors. its ultimate greek origin, 'petroselinon', literally meant 'rock celery', likely describing the plant's habitat or distinguishing it from similar plants. the modern english form 'parsley' is a fully lexicalized, unsegmentable unit; its internal greek roots are not morphologically active in english. the semantic connection from the ancient descriptive compound to the modern culinary herb remains, though the literal 'rock' meaning is no longer perceptible to speakers.

the word 'parsley' is a simplex loanword. it entered english from old french 'peresil', which came from latin 'petroselinum', itself borrowed from greek 'petroselinon'. the greek word is a compound of 'petra' (rock) and 'selinon' (celery), meaning 'rock celery'.