Where does “spearphishing” come from?
spearphishing (English) comes from English phishing, from English fishing, from English Fish, from Old English fiscian, from Proto-West Germanic fiskōn, from Proto-Germanic fiskōną, from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti — he, she.
spearphishing (English): Phishing against a small group of selected...
Definitions
- Phishing against a small group of selected...
Ancestry of “spearphishing”, step by step
spearphishing traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English phishing
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | phishing | The malicious act of keeping a false website or... |
| 2 | English | fishing | The act of catching fish; The act of catching... |
| 3 | English | Fish | The constellation and zodiacal sign Pisces |
| 4 | Old English | fiscian | to fish |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | fiskōn | to fish, to catch fish |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fiskōną | to fish, to catch fish |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -ōną | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 11 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English Spear
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Spear | A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion |
| 2 | Middle English | spere | A spear or lance; The Lance of Longinus; A barb... |
| 3 | Old French | sphere | sphere shape |
| 4 | Latin | sphēra | — |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | σφαῖρα | ball, globe, sphere |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -ειδής | like, connected to, from the nature of, full of;... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -ής | adjective suffix |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |