Where does “rabbitfish” come from?

rabbitfish (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.

rabbitfish (English): Any fish in the family Siganidae, native to...

Definitions

  1. Any fish in the family Siganidae, native to...

Ancestry of “rabbitfish”, step by step

rabbitfish 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 rabbit

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrabbitA mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears,...
2Middle Englishrabet—
3Middle Frenchrabotte—
4Dutchrobbe—
5Englishrobert—
6Anglo-NormanRobert—
Every word from Chichewa iye →Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yéti →Every word from Proto-Germanic -ōną →