Where does “quillfish” come from?

quillfish (English) comes from English Fish, from Old English fiscian, from Proto-West Germanic fiskōn, from Proto-Germanic fiskōną, from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.

quillfish (English): Ptilichthys goodei, a long, eel-like perciform fish native to the north Pacific Ocean

Definitions

  1. Ptilichthys goodei, a long, eel-like perciform fish native to the north Pacific Ocean

Ancestry of “quillfish”, step by step

quillfish traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Fish

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishFishThe constellation and zodiacal sign Pisces
2Old Englishfiscianto fish
3Proto-West Germanicfiskōnto fish, to catch fish
4Proto-Germanicfiskōnąto fish, to catch fish
5Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
6Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
9Chichewaiyehe, she

via English quill

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishquillThe lower shaft of a feather, specifically the...
2Middle Englishquil
3Middle Low Germanquiele
Every word from Chichewa iyeEvery word from Proto-Indo-European -yétiEvery word from Proto-Germanic -ōną