Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “steelhead” come from?

Steelhead derives from English steel and head, with head tracing to Old English hēafod, from Proto-Indo-European *kaput- meaning "head."

steelhead (English): The anadromous form of the rainbow trout,...

Definitions

  1. The anadromous form of the rainbow trout,...

Ancestry of “steelhead”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsteelAn artificial metal produced from iron, harder...
2English-villeUsed to form a name of an inhabited place, a town...
3Frenchvilletown, city
4Middle Frenchvillecity or town
5Old Frenchvillecity or town
6Latinvīlla—
7Latinveterathe old; old times, ancient times, antiquity
8Latinvetusold, aged, elderly, ancient; long-standing;...
9Latin-tusForms the past participle of verbs; Forms...
10Proto-Italic-tus—
11Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tus →