The modern English ivy derives from Middle English ivi, from Old English īfiġ, deriving in turn from Proto-Germanic * ibahs. The binomial in its entirety thus has the meaning 'the clinging plant that coils in spirals (helices)'. The specific epithet helix derives from Ancient Greek ἕλιξ ( helix), ' helix', and from the Latin helicem, 'spiral', first used around 1600. The genus name Hedera is the Classical Latin word for 'ivy', which is cognate with Greek χανδάνω ( khandánō) 'to get, grasp', both deriving ultimately from Proto-Indo-European * gʰed- 'to seize, grasp, take'. Other common names are bindwood and lovestone.

Synonyms include Hedera acuta, Hedera arborea ('tree ivy'), Hedera baccifera, and Hedera grandifolia. As a result of its hardy nature, and its tendency to grow readily without human assistance, ivy attained popularity as an ornamental plant, but escaped plants have become naturalised outside its native range and grow unchecked in myriad wild and cultivated areas.

across its native and introduced habitats. A rampant, clinging evergreen vine, it is a familiar sight in gardens, waste spaces, and wild areas, where it grows on walls, fences, tree trunks, etc.

Hedera helix, the common ivy, English ivy, European ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant of the ivy genus in the family Araliaceae, native to most of Europe and western Asia. Stems with rootlets used to cling to walls and tree trunks

Helix meaning