Where does “mousebird” come from?

mousebird (English) comes from English Mouse, from German maus, from Middle High German mūs, from Old High German mūs, from Proto-West Germanic mūs, from Proto-Germanic mūs, from Proto-Indo-European múh₂s — mouse.

mousebird (English): Any of a group of possibly passerine arboreal...

Definitions

  1. Any of a group of possibly passerine arboreal...

Ancestry of “mousebird”, step by step

mousebird traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Mouse

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMouseThe Walt Disney Company
2Germanmausmouse (animal)
3Middle High Germanmūsmouse
4Old High Germanmūsmouse
5Proto-West Germanicmūsmouse
6Proto-Germanicmūsmouse
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmúh₂smouse

via English bird

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbirdA member of the class of animals Aves in the...
2Middle Englishbrida young bird, a bird in general; Alternative form...
3Old Englishbriddyoung bird, chick; chicken
Every word from Proto-Indo-European múh₂s →