Where does “bluebird” come from?
Bluebird is a compound of blue and bird, with bird deriving from Middle English brid, Old English bridd, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European bʰel-, meaning to swell or bloom.
bluebird (English): Any of various North American birds of the genus...
Definitions
- Any of various North American birds of the genus...
Ancestry of “bluebird”, step by step
bluebird traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Blue
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Blue | A letterman at Oxford or Cambridge; A member of... |
| 2 | Middle English | blēwe | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | blew | blue |
| 4 | Middle French | bleu | blue |
| 5 | Old French | blöe | blue |
| 6 | Latvian | blāvus | accusative plural masculine form of blāvs |
| 7 | Old High German | blāo | blue, dark, grey; blue; yellow |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | blāu | blue |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | blēwaz | blue; a dark bluish or grey colour, black |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰlēw- | yellow, blond, grey |