Where does “finger fish” come from?

finger fish (English) comes from English Fish, from Old English fiscian, from Proto-West Germanic fiskōn, from Proto-Germanic fiskōną, from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.

finger fish (English): Any small fish approximately the size of a finger

Definitions

  1. Any small fish approximately the size of a finger

Ancestry of “finger fish”, step by step

finger fish traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Fish

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishFishThe constellation and zodiacal sign Pisces
2Old Englishfiscianto fish
3Proto-West Germanicfiskōnto fish, to catch fish
4Proto-Germanicfiskōnąto fish, to catch fish
5Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
6Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
9Chichewaiyehe, she

via English finger

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfingerA slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other animals
2GermanFingerfinger
3Middle High Germanvingerfinger
4Old High Germanfingarfinger
5Proto-West Germanicfingrfinger
6Proto-Germanicfingrazfinger
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpenkʷrós
Every word from Chichewa iyeEvery word from Proto-Indo-European -yétiEvery word from Proto-Germanic -ōną