Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “merganser” come from?

merganser (English) comes from Late Latin merganser, from Latin mergus, from Latin mergō, from Proto-Indo-European *mésgeti, from Proto-Indo-European mesg- — to dip, sink.

merganser (English): Any of various diving ducks of the genera...

Definitions

  1. Any of various diving ducks of the genera...

Ancestry of “merganser”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Late Latinmerganser—
2Latinmergusdiver , a kind of waterfowl; vine-layer
3Latinmergō—
4Proto-Indo-European*mésgeti—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmesg-to dip, sink
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mesg- →