field
An open area of land, especially one used for cultivation or pasture.
Etymology
From Old English feld, from Proto-Germanic *felþuz "flat open land," from PIE *pleth₂- "to spread out flat." The original meaning was simply "flat ground" — land spread out before you. The same root gives us "flat," "place," and "plaza," all sharing the concept of an open expanse.
The Journey: *pleth₂- → field
*pleth₂-
*felþuz
feld
feld, field
field
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *pleth₂-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Dutch | veld |
| Greek | platýs (broad) |
| German | Feld |
| Sanskrit | pr̥thú- (broad) |
| Old Norse | fold (earth) |
Did You Know?
The South African term "veld" (grassland) is the same word as English "field" — both from Proto-Germanic *felþuz. When Dutch settlers named the open grasslands, they used the same ancient word their ancestors had used for flat land for millennia.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *pleth₂-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.