Where does “chaffinch” come from?

chaffinch (English) comes from English finch, from Middle English fynch, from Old English finċ, from Proto-Germanic finkiz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)pingos — chaffinch.

chaffinch (English): A small passerine bird, "Fringilla coelebs", of...

Definitions

  1. A small passerine bird, "Fringilla coelebs", of...

Ancestry of “chaffinch”, step by step

chaffinch traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English finch

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfinchAny bird of the family Fringillidae, seed-eating...
2Middle Englishfynchfinch
3Old Englishfinċfinch
4Proto-Germanicfinkizfinch
5Proto-Indo-European(s)pingoschaffinch

via English chaff

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishchaffThe inedible parts of a grain-producing plant;...
2Middle EnglishchafChaff; the parts of harvested grain not usable as...
3Old Englishċeafchaff
4Proto-West Germanickafchaff

Words derived from “chaffinch”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pingos →Every word from Proto-Germanic finkiz →Every word from Old English finċ →