Where does “hornsnake” come from?

hornsnake (English) comes from English horn, from Middle English horn, from Old English horn, from Proto-West Germanic horn, from Proto-Germanic hurną, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer-, from Proto-Indo-European kr̥-, from Proto-Indo-European ker- — army.

hornsnake (English): A harmless snake, Farancia abacura, found in the...

Definitions

  1. A harmless snake, Farancia abacura, found in the...

Ancestry of “hornsnake”, step by step

hornsnake traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English horn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhornA hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the...
2Middle EnglishhornA horn; A jutting or projecting extremity of...
3Old Englishhornhorn; gable
4Proto-West Germanichornhorn
5Proto-Germanichurnąhorn
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱer-to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeankr̥-to turn, to bend
8Proto-Indo-Europeanker-army

via English snake

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsnakeA legless reptile of the sub-order Serpentes with...
2Middle Englishsnakesnake; serpent
3Old Englishsnacasnake
4Proto-Germanicsnakôsnake
5Proto-Germanicsnakanąto crawl
6Proto-Indo-Europeansneg-to crawl, creeping thing
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ker-Every word from Proto-Indo-European kr̥-Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱer-