Where does “frigatebird” come from?
frigatebird (English) comes from English frigate, from French frégate, from Italian fregata, from Latin aphractus, from Ancient Greek ἄφρακτος, from Ancient Greek φράκτης, from Ancient Greek -τής, from Ancient Greek πεῖρα — passed , crossed.
frigatebird (English): Any of five species of bird in the genus...
Definitions
- Any of five species of bird in the genus...
Ancestry of “frigatebird”, step by step
frigatebird traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English frigate
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | frigate | An obsolete type of sailing warship with a single... |
| 2 | French | frégate | frigate; frigatebird; first-person singular... |
| 3 | Italian | fregata | rub, polish; rip-off; feminine singular of... |
| 4 | Latin | aphractus | An open boat |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἄφρακτος | unfenced, unfortified, unguarded |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | φράκτης | sluice with gates |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |