Where does “rattlesnake” come from?
Rattlesnake is a compound of Middle English rattle and Old English snaca, which derives from Proto-Germanic snakaną and Proto-Indo-European sneg-.
rattlesnake (English): Any of various venomous American snakes, of...
Definitions
- Any of various venomous American snakes, of...
Ancestry of “rattlesnake”, step by step
rattlesnake traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English rattle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | rattle | a sound made by loose objects shaking or... |
| 2 | Arabic | رَطْل | — |
| 3 | Classical Syriac | ܪܝܛܠܐ | — |
| 4 | Classical Syriac | ܠܝܛܪܐ | libra, pound |
| 5 | French | litre | litre |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | litra | — |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | λίτρα | litra, a Sicilian silver coin; libra, a unit of... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *līðrā | ingot |
via English snake
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | snake | A legless reptile of the sub-order Serpentes with... |
| 2 | Middle English | snake | snake; serpent |
| 3 | Old English | snaca | snake |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | snakô | snake |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | snakaną | to crawl |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sneg- | to crawl, creeping thing |
Words derived from “rattlesnake”