köken: From the equivalent Middle High German ampfer, Old High German ampfaro m, allied to the equivalent Old English ompre, from Proto-West Germanic *amprō; an adjective used as a substantive. Compare Dutch amper (“sharp, bitter, unripe”), Old Swedish amper, Old Norse apr (“sharp, chiefly of cold”) (for Proto-Germanic *ampraz); also Low German ampern (“to prove bitter to the taste”). Sauerampfer (also…
köken: From a plant name *qozu qulaq (“lamb's ear”). Probably developed as a metaphoric term, based on likening sorrel leaves in shape to lamb's ears. Cognate with Tatar кузгалак (quzğalaq, “sorrel”), Karachay-Balkar къозу къулакъ (qozu qulaq, “sorrel”), Kyrgyz козу кулак (kozu kulak, “Oxyria”), Kazakh қозықұлақ (qozyqūlaq, “Trіchochіton”), Turkish kuzukulağı (“Rumex acetosella”), etc.
köken: Origin uncertain, but the suffixes -ix and -ex are found in other plant names such as larix and carex. Probably a substrate word; compare Ancient Greek ῥῡτή (rhūtḗ, “rue”). More information One doubtful etymology supposes derivation from Proto-Indo-European *sū-ro- (“sour, salty, bitter”) via metathesis *sūr- > *srū-, an innovation supposedly shared by Ancient Greek ῥῡτή (rhūtḗ), but this is even…