Where does “porcupinefish” come from?

porcupinefish (English) comes from English porcupine, from Middle English porke despyne, from Old French porc-espin, from Latin porcus, from Proto-Italic porkos, from Proto-Indo-European pórḱos, from Proto-Indo-European perḱ-, from Proto-Indo-European per- — passed , crossed.

porcupinefish (English): blowfish

Definitions

  1. blowfish

Ancestry of “porcupinefish”, step by step

porcupinefish traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English porcupine

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishporcupineAny of several rodents of either of the taxonomic...
2Middle Englishporke despyne
3Old Frenchporc-espin
4Latinporcusa piglet, a young pig; a pig, hog; Short for...
5Proto-Italicporkospig
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpórḱospiglet
7Proto-Indo-Europeanperḱ-colored; motley; to open, rip up
8Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via English fish

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfishA cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in...
2Middle EnglishfischAn animal that inhabits the water or the meat of...
3Old Englishfisċfish
4Proto-West Germanicfiskfish
5Proto-Germanicfiskazfish
6Indo-European*peysk-
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tósEvery word from Proto-Indo-European per-Every word from Proto-Indo-European perḱ-