Where does “sea chameleon” come from?
sea chameleon (English) comes from English chameleon, from Middle English camelion, from Old French cameleon, from Latin chamaeleon, from Ancient Greek χαμαιλέων, from Ancient Greek χαμαί, from Ancient Greek Χθών, from Proto-Indo-European dʰéǵʰōm.
sea chameleon (English): The bleak, a small European river fish (Alburnus alburnus) of the family Cyprinidae
Definitions
- The bleak, a small European river fish (Alburnus alburnus) of the family Cyprinidae
Ancestry of “sea chameleon”, step by step
sea chameleon traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English chameleon
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | chameleon | A small to mid-size reptile, of the family... |
| 2 | Middle English | camelion | — |
| 3 | Old French | cameleon | — |
| 4 | Latin | chamaeleon | chameleon; carline thistle |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | χαμαιλέων | chameleon; type of plant, so called because of... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | χαμαί | on the earth, near the ground; to the... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | Χθών | the Earth, personified as a goddess |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰéǵʰōm | earth |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -ōm | emphatic suffix or postpositive particle |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -mi | — |
via English sea
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sea | A large body of salt water; A lake, especially if... |
| 2 | Middle English | see | sea, ocean; A body of water, a lake; seat, chair |
| 3 | Old English | sǣ | sea, lake |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | saiwi | sea |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | saiwiz | sea, ocean |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | sīhwaną | to filter |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | seykʷ- | to moisten; to filter |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sey- | to be wet; dribble; run; to stretch one's arm;... |