Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “redstart” come from?

redstart (English) comes from English start, from Middle English stert, from Old English steort, from Proto-West Germanic *stert, from Proto-Germanic stertaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)terd-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ter- — strong, firm, stiff, rigid; rigid, stiff; to...

redstart (English): Any of various insectivorous ground-feeding...

Definitions

  1. Any of various insectivorous ground-feeding...

Ancestry of “redstart”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstartThe beginning of an activity; A sudden...
2Middle Englishstertstart; beginning; tail
3Old Englishsteorttail
4Proto-West Germanic*stert—
5Proto-Germanicstertaztail
6Proto-Indo-European(s)terd-—
7Proto-Indo-European(s)ter-strong, firm, stiff, rigid; rigid, stiff; to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)ter- →