Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “stiff-tailed duck” come from?

stiff-tailed duck (English) comes from English tailed, from Middle English tayled, from Middle English tayl, from Old English tæġl, from Proto-Germanic taglą, from Proto-Indo-European doḱ-, from Proto-Indo-European deḱ- — take; perceive.

stiff-tailed duck (English): A duck of the Oxyurinae subfamily

Definitions

  1. A duck of the Oxyurinae subfamily

Ancestry of “stiff-tailed duck”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishtailedsimple past tense and past participle of tail;...
2Middle Englishtayledtailed; Having a part which drags on the floor
3Middle EnglishtaylA tail; The back side or reverse of a creature; A...
4Old Englishtæġltail
5Proto-Germanictagląhair; ponytail; hair of a tail; tail
6Proto-Indo-Europeandoḱ-hair of the tail
7Proto-Indo-Europeandeḱ-take; perceive
Every word from Proto-Indo-European deḱ- →