Where does “whalebird” come from?

whalebird (English) comes from English whale, from Middle English whal, from Old English hwæl, from Proto-West Germanic hwal, from Proto-Germanic hwalaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos — large fish; sheatfish.

whalebird (English): Any of several species of large Antarctic...

Definitions

  1. Any of several species of large Antarctic...

Ancestry of “whalebird”, step by step

whalebird traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English whale

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwhaleAny of several species of large sea mammals of...
2Middle EnglishwhalA whale or cetacean
3Old Englishhwæla whale
4Proto-West Germanichwalwhale
5Proto-Germanichwalazwhale, sheatfish
6Proto-Indo-European(s)kʷáloslarge fish; sheatfish

via English bird

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbirdA member of the class of animals Aves in the...
2Middle Englishbrida young bird, a bird in general; Alternative form...
3Old Englishbriddyoung bird, chick; chicken
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kʷálos →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwalaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic hwal →