Where does “birdie” come from?
Birdie derives from English bird plus the diminutive suffix -y, which comes from Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, Latin -ia, and Proto-Indo-European -kos.
birdie (English): A bird; a birdling; a child's term for a bird;...
Definitions
- A bird; a birdling; a child's term for a bird;...
Ancestry of “birdie”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -ie | Forming diminutive or affectionate forms of nouns... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |
Words derived from “birdie”