Where does “lanternfish” come from?

lanternfish (English) comes from English Fish, from Old English fiscian, from Proto-West Germanic fiskōn, from Proto-Germanic fiskōną, from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.

lanternfish (English): any of small, deep sea fish of the large family...

Definitions

  1. any of small, deep sea fish of the large family...

Ancestry of “lanternfish”, step by step

lanternfish traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Fish

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishFishThe constellation and zodiacal sign Pisces
2Old Englishfiscianto fish
3Proto-West Germanicfiskōnto fish, to catch fish
4Proto-Germanicfiskōnąto fish, to catch fish
5Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
6Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
9Chichewaiyehe, she

via English lantern

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlanternA case of translucent or transparent material...
2Middle EnglishlanterneA lantern or lamp; An inspiration; guidance; An...
3Old Frenchlanternelantern
4Latinlanternalantern, lamp; torch
5Ancient Greekλαμπτήρlighter, torch, lantern
6Ancient Greek-τήρAdded to verb stems to form masculine agent nouns
7Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
Every word from Chichewa iyeEvery word from Proto-Indo-European -yétiEvery word from Proto-Germanic -ōną