Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “perch” come from?

Perch comes from Middle English perche, from Old French perche, from Latin perca, from Ancient Greek πέρκη, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to spot or speckle.

perch (English): Any of the three species of spiny-finned...

Definitions

  1. Any of the three species of spiny-finned...

Ancestry of “perch”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpercheperch; A stake, bar or pole, usually running...
2Old Frenchperche—
3Latinperticapole, long staff; measuring rod; rod, the Roman...
4Proto-Italicpertikā—

Words derived from “perch”

  • perching
  • pikeperch
  • percher
  • surfperch
  • logperch
  • percheth
  • perchlike
  • perchless
  • perchery
  • sunperch
  • nonperching
  • sea perch
  • deperch
  • reperch
  • pike-perch
  • unperch
  • Nile perch
  • overperch
  • perchest
Every word from Proto-Italic pertikā →