Where does “stifftail” come from?
stifftail (English) comes from English stiff, from Middle English stif, from Old English stīf, from Proto-West Germanic stīf, from Proto-Germanic stīfaz, from Proto-Indo-European steypós.
stifftail (English): Any of various ducks whose tails have stiff...
Definitions
- Any of various ducks whose tails have stiff...
Ancestry of “stifftail”, step by step
stifftail traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English stiff
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stiff | Rigid; hard to bend; inflexible; Inflexible;... |
| 2 | Middle English | stif | Stiff, firm, hard; difficult to move or... |
| 3 | Old English | stīf | Stiff, firm, hard |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | stīf | stiff, rigid |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | stīfaz | stiff, rigid |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | steypós | — |
via English Tail
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Tail | A Chinese constellation coinciding with the tail of Scorpius, one of the 28 lunar mansions and the tail of Azure Dragon |
| 2 | Middle English | tayl | A tail; The back side or reverse of a creature; A... |
| 3 | Old English | tæġl | tail |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | taglą | hair; ponytail; hair of a tail; tail |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | doḱ- | hair of the tail |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | deḱ- | take; perceive |