köken: Compound of berg (“bedrock; mountain”) + söta (“sweetness”). Latter half from the sweet, liquorice-like taste of their edible roots. First attested in 1638.
köken: kallio (“rock”) + imarre. The first part of the name refers to the plant's typical habitat in Finland, and the latter part of the name probably refers to the sweet taste of the rhizome of the plant, compare imelä (“sweet”), imarrella (“to flatter”).
köken: From Proto-Italic *feleks, *feliks, likely from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“henbane”) + -ix, a suffix akin to -ex found in other plant names (compare cārex (“sedge”), rumex (“sorrel”)). De Vaan posits that -ix is early, not a result of vowel assimilation at the Latin stage. Cognate to Welsh bele, Russian белена́ (belená), Czech blín, Middle Dutch bilse, Old English belene, German Bilsenkraut all…