Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “flyspecking” come from?

flyspecking (English) comes from English flyspeck, from English fly, from Middle English flien, from Old English flēogan, from Old English -ende, from Proto-West Germanic *-andī, from Proto-Germanic -andz, from Proto-Indo-European -ónts — sound, voice.

flyspecking (English): A technique for painting furniture with flicked...

Definitions

  1. A technique for painting furniture with flicked...

Ancestry of “flyspecking”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishflyspeckHousefly excrement, visible as a minuscule black...
2EnglishflyAny insect of the order Diptera; characterized by...
3Middle EnglishflienTo fly; to travel in the air; To move in the sky;...
4Old Englishflēoganto fly
5Old English-endeequivalent of English -ing; suffix for present...
6Proto-West Germanic*-andī—
7Proto-Germanic-andz—
8Proto-Indo-European-óntsDerives nouns denoting body parts
9Hungarianöntto pour; to cast; accusative singular of ön
10Hungarianönyou
11Hungarianön-self-
12Turkishönfront
13Ottoman Turkishاوك—
14Proto-Turkicǖnsound, voice
Every word from Proto-Turkic ǖn →