From Old English 'ifig,' from Proto-Germanic *ibahaz — no certain etymology beyond Germanic, possibly pre-Indo-European.
A woody evergreen climbing plant of the genus Hedera, with dark green, glossy, lobed leaves, often growing on walls and trees.
From Old English ifig (ivy), from Proto-Germanic *ibahaz or *ibagai. The etymology beyond Germanic is uncertain: no secure PIE root has been established for the plant name. Some scholars connect it to a pre-Indo-European substrate word — a term inherited by Germanic speakers from the peoples they displaced or absorbed in northern Europe. Others
The phrase 'Ivy League' originally had nothing to do with the plant. One popular theory holds that it comes from a 'League of IV' — four colleges (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia) that formed an early athletic conference. The association with ivy-covered buildings came later, though the plant had long symbolized academic tradition. The formal Ivy League athletic conference was not established