Where does “snakeneck” come from?

snakeneck (English) comes from English neck, from Middle English nekke, from Old English hnecca, from Proto-West Germanic *hnakkō, from Proto-Germanic hnakkô, from Proto-Indo-European knog-, from Proto-Indo-European ken- — to arise, begin.

snakeneck (English): The snakebird

Definitions

  1. The snakebird

Ancestry of “snakeneck”, step by step

snakeneck traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English neck

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishneckThe part of the body connecting the head and the...
2Middle Englishnekkeneck
3Old Englishhneccaback of the neck; back of the head; neck
4Proto-West Germanic*hnakkōnape
5Proto-Germanichnakkôthe back of the neck; nape
6Proto-Indo-Europeanknog-back of the head, nape, neck
7Proto-Indo-Europeanken-to arise, begin

via English snake

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsnakeA legless reptile of the sub-order Serpentes with...
2Middle Englishsnakesnake; serpent
3Old Englishsnacasnake
4Proto-Germanicsnakôsnake
5Proto-Germanicsnakanąto crawl
6Proto-Indo-Europeansneg-to crawl, creeping thing
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ken-Every word from Proto-Indo-European knog-Every word from Proto-Germanic hnakkô