Where does “flycatching” come from?

flycatching (English) comes from English catching, from English catch, from Middle English cacchen, from Anglo-Norman cachier, from Vulgar Latin coacticare, from Latin coactō, from Latin coactus, from Latin cōgō — whale, sea monster; abyss.

flycatching (English): Catching insects while in flight

Definitions

  1. Catching insects while in flight

Ancestry of “flycatching”, step by step

flycatching traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English catching

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishcatchingcontagious; captivating; alluring; catchy; The...
2EnglishcatchThe act of seizing or capturing; The act of...
3Middle Englishcacchento catch
4Anglo-Normancachierto hide; Alternative form of chacier
5Vulgar Latincoacticarepresent active infinitive of *coacticō
6Latincoactōto compel, constrain, force
7Latincoactusforced, compelled, having been forced; urged,...
8Latincōgōto collect, assemble, gather together
9Latincōn-Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects
10Latincumwith, along with; at; -fold
11Old LatincomAlternative form of cum
12Proto-Italickomwith, along, at
13Proto-Indo-Europeanḱómbeside, near, by, with
14Proto-Indo-EuropeanḱeDeictic particle, here; Post-positional...
15Middle Englishkyt
16Russianкитwhale; genitive plural of ки́та
17Old Church Slavonicкитъwhale
18Ancient Greekκῆτοςwhale, sea monster; abyss

via English fly

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishflyAny insect of the order Diptera; characterized by...
2Middle EnglishflienTo fly; to travel in the air; To move in the sky;...
3Old Englishflēoganto fly
4Old English-endeequivalent of English -ing; suffix for present...
5Proto-West Germanic*-andī
6Proto-Germanic-andz
7Proto-Indo-European-óntsDerives nouns denoting body parts
8Hungarianöntto pour; to cast; accusative singular of ön
9Hungarianönyou
10Hungarianön-self-
11Turkishönfront
12Ottoman Turkishاوكvoice (of human or animal); sound
13Proto-Turkicǖnsound, voice
Every word from Ancient Greek κῆτος
flycatching — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer