Where does “housefly” come from?
housefly (English) comes 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, from Hungarian önt — sound, voice.
housefly (English): Any fly regularly found in human dwellings
Definitions
- Any fly regularly found in human dwellings
Ancestry of “housefly”, step by step
housefly traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English fly
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fly | Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by... |
| 2 | Middle English | flien | To fly; to travel in the air; To move in the sky;... |
| 3 | Old English | flēogan | to fly |
| 4 | Old English | -ende | equivalent of English -ing; suffix for present... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *-andī | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -andz | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ónts | Derives nouns denoting body parts |
| 8 | Hungarian | önt | to pour; to cast; accusative singular of ön |
| 9 | Hungarian | ön | you |
| 10 | Hungarian | ön- | self- |
| 11 | Turkish | ön | front |
| 12 | Ottoman Turkish | اوك | voice (of human or animal); sound |
| 13 | Proto-Turkic | ǖn | sound, voice |
via English House
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | House | A particular chamber of political representation |
| 2 | Middle English | hous | house, residence; house of worship, temple;... |
| 3 | Old English | hūs | dwelling, shelter, house; house |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | hūs | house |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hūsą | house |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kewH- | to cover, bedeck; cover |