marigold

The word comes from Middle English marigolde, a fusion of Mary — referring to the Virgin Mary — and Middle English golde, meaning marigold. Mary itself traces back through Old French Marie, Latin Marīa, Koine Greek Măríā, Aramaic מרים, and ultimately Biblical Hebrew מִרְיָם.

The name simply joined a religious title to an existing English flower-word, golde, without much recorded shift in meaning since.

The golde half of the word descends from Old English gold, itself from Proto-Germanic *gulþą and Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰĺ̥h₃-to-m — so marigold quietly shares a root with the metal gold.