Where does “shorthead” come from?

shorthead (English) comes from English head, from English -y, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.

shorthead (English): A sucking whale less than one year old

Definitions

  1. A sucking whale less than one year old

Ancestry of “shorthead”, step by step

shorthead traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English head

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishheadThe part of the body of an animal or human which...
2English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
3Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
4Old English-iġ-y, -ic
5Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
6Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
7Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

via English short

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishshortHaving a small distance from one end or edge to...
2Middle Englishschortshort as opposed to being tall or long
3Old Englishsċeort
4Proto-West Germanicskurtshort; lacking, deficient
5Proto-Germanicskurtazshort; lacking, deficient
6Proto-Indo-European(s)ḱer-dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱosEvery word from English -yEvery word from Old English -iġ