Where does “little bittern” come from?
little bittern (English) comes from English little, from Middle English litel, from Old English lȳtel, from Proto-West Germanic lūtil, from Proto-Germanic lūtilaz, from Proto-Germanic burgz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰr̥ǵʰ-.
little bittern (English): A bittern of the genus "Ixobrychus"
Definitions
- A bittern of the genus "Ixobrychus"
Ancestry of “little bittern”, step by step
little bittern traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English little
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | little | Small in size; Insignificant, trivial; Very young |
| 2 | Middle English | litel | little |
| 3 | Old English | lȳtel | little |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | lūtil | bent; tending to stoop; crouching |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | lūtilaz | bent; tending to stoop; crouching; little |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | burgz | fortification, stronghold; city |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰr̥ǵʰ- | — |
via English bittern
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | bittern | Several bird species in the Botaurinae subfamily... |
| 2 | Old French | butor | bittern |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | butitaurus | — |
| 4 | Latin | Taurus | Taurus, one of the constellations of the Zodiac |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | Ταῦρος | one of the Tauri |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | táuros | bull |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | táwros | wild bull, aurochs |