annual

English 'annual' entered the language around 1382, borrowed from Late Latin annuālem/annuālis, itself tied to Latin annālis, the adjective form of annus, meaning 'year.'

Long used to describe anything tied to a yearly cycle, the word picked up a more specific botanical job by 1710, when it began labeling plants that live out their whole life span in a single year.

It shares its root with 'annālis,' the Latin word behind 'annals' — records kept year by year.