Where does “tonguefish” come from?

tonguefish (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.

tonguefish (English): Any of the flatfishes in the taxonomic family...

Definitions

  1. Any of the flatfishes in the taxonomic family...

Ancestry of “tonguefish”, step by step

tonguefish 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 tongue

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtongueThe flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is...
2Middle Englishtungtongue; A tongue-shaped thing; language, speech,...
3Old Englishtung
4Proto-West Germanictungātongue; speech, language
5Proto-Germanictungǭtongue; speech, language
6Proto-Indo-Europeandn̥ǵʰwéh₂stongue
Every word from Chichewa iyeEvery word from Proto-Indo-European -yétiEvery word from Proto-Germanic -ōną
tonguefish — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer