Where does “Ravenclaw” come from?
Ravenclaw (English) comes from English Raven, from Middle English raven, from Old English hræfn, from Proto-West Germanic hrabn, from Proto-Germanic hrabnaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱorh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer-, from Proto-Indo-European kr̥- — army.
Ravenclaw (English): A person having traits associated with Ravenclaw...
Definitions
- A person having traits associated with Ravenclaw...
Ancestry of “Ravenclaw”, step by step
Ravenclaw traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Raven
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Raven | for a girl with raven hair, used since the 1970s |
| 2 | Middle English | raven | to wander; to rave; talk like a madman |
| 3 | Old English | hræfn | raven |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | hrabn | raven |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hrabnaz | raven |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱorh₂- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
via English claw
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | claw | A curved, pointed horny nail on each digit of the... |
| 2 | Middle English | clawe | A claw; a horny nail on the feet of certain... |
| 3 | Old English | clawu | claw |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *klawu | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | klawō | claw |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | klawjaną | to claw or scratch |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | glew- | Alternative form of *gley-; to amass,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵel- | to swallow; swallow |