Where does “mackerel” come from?

Mackerel comes from Old French maquerel, derived from Latin macula, which traces back to Proto-Indo-European smeh₁-.

mackerel (English): An edible fish of the family Scombridae, often...

Definitions

  1. An edible fish of the family Scombridae, often...

Ancestry of “mackerel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmakerelmackerel
2Old Frenchmaquerelmackerel
3Middle Dutchmakelare—
4Low GermanmakenTo make
5Middle Low Germanmāken—
6Old Saxonmakōnto make
7Proto-West Germanicmakōnto build, work, make
8Proto-Germanicmakazfit, suitable, agreeable, comfortable
9Proto-Indo-Europeanmaǵ-to oil, knead; to knead, oil

Words derived from “mackerel”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European maǵ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic makaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic makōn →