Where does “sunfish” come from?

sunfish (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.

sunfish (English): Any of various small freshwater fishes of the...

Definitions

  1. Any of various small freshwater fishes of the...

Ancestry of “sunfish”, step by step

sunfish 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 Sun

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSunAbbreviation of Sunday
2Middle EnglishsunneAlternative form of sonne; sun
3Old Englishsunnesun
4Proto-West Germanicsunnāsun
5Proto-Germanicsunnǭthe sun
6Proto-Indo-Europeansh̥₂uénsun; the Sun
7Proto-Indo-Europeansóh₂wl̥sun

Words derived from “sunfish”

Every word from Chichewa iye →Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yéti →Every word from Proto-Germanic -ōną →