Where does “ragged robin” come from?
ragged robin (English) comes from English robin, from Middle English Robin, from Old French Robert, from Frankish berht, from Proto-Germanic berhtaz, from Proto-Germanic hrabnaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱorh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer- — army.
ragged robin (English): A type of wild campion (Silene flos-cuculi, syn. Lychnis flos-cuculi), in the family Caryophyllaceae, which grows across Europe and has pink flowers
Definitions
- A type of wild campion (Silene flos-cuculi, syn. Lychnis flos-cuculi), in the family Caryophyllaceae, which grows across Europe and has pink flowers
Ancestry of “ragged robin”, step by step
ragged robin traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English robin
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | robin | Any of various passerine birds of the families... |
| 2 | Middle English | Robin | — |
| 3 | Old French | Robert | a Germanic (Old Frankish) borrowing |
| 4 | Frankish | berht | bright |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | berhtaz | bright, shining |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hrabnaz | raven |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱorh₂- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |