Where does “starling” come from?

Starling derives from Middle English starling, from Old English starlinc, a diminutive formation combining Old English star- (from Proto-Germanic star-) with the diminutive suffix -ling, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sterh₁-.

starling (English): A family, Sturnidae, of passerine birds; A...

Definitions

  1. A family, Sturnidae, of passerine birds; A...

Ancestry of “starling”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishstarling—
2Old Englishstarlinc—
3Old English-lingadverbial suffix denoting direction, state or...
4Old Englishlanglong; lasting; old, ancient; advanced
5Proto-West Germaniclanglong
6Proto-Germaniclangazlong
7Proto-Indo-Europeandlongʰoslong

Words derived from “starling”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European dlongʰos →Every word from Proto-Germanic langaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic lang →