Where does “spoutfish” come from?

spoutfish (English) comes 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, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.

spoutfish (English): A marine animal that spouts water; applied...

Definitions

  1. A marine animal that spouts water; applied...

Ancestry of “spoutfish”, step by step

spoutfish traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Fish

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishFishThe constellation and zodiacal sign Pisces
2Old Englishfiscianto fish
3Proto-West Germanicfiskōnto fish, to catch fish
4Proto-Germanicfiskōnąto fish, to catch fish
5Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
6Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
7Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
8Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
9Chichewaiyehe, she

via English spout

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishspoutA tube or lip through which liquid or steam is...
2Middle Englishspoutento spout
3Middle Dutchspoiten
Every word from Chichewa iye