Where does “swingletail” come from?
swingletail (English) comes from English swingle, from English -le, from Middle English -el, from Old French -el, from Latin -ellus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
swingletail (English): The thrasher, or fox shark
Definitions
- The thrasher, or fox shark
Ancestry of “swingletail”, step by step
swingletail traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English swingle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | swingle | To beat or flog, especially for extracting the... |
| 2 | English | -le | A frequentative suffix of verbs, indicating... |
| 3 | Middle English | -el | — |
| 4 | Old French | -el | Suffix that usually denotes a masculine noun |
| 5 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 6 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
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 |