Where does “white-eye” come from?
white-eye (English) comes from English White, from English sox, from English socks, from English sock, from French soc, from Vulgar Latin soccus, from Proto-Celtic sukkos, from Proto-Indo-European suH- — to press out, extract; juice; liquid, rain; to...
white-eye (English): Any of the passerine birds of the family Zosteropidae, native to Africa, Asia and Australasia, typically having a ring of tiny white feathers around their eyes
Definitions
- Any of the passerine birds of the family Zosteropidae, native to Africa, Asia and Australasia, typically having a ring of tiny white feathers around their eyes
Ancestry of “white-eye”, step by step
white-eye traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English White
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | White | Alternative letter-case form of white; An... |
| 2 | English | sox | plural of sock |
| 3 | English | socks | plural of sock; Third-person singular simple... |
| 4 | English | sock | A knitted or woven covering for the foot; A shoe... |
| 5 | French | soc | plowshare; Boston butt |
| 6 | Vulgar Latin | soccus | — |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | sukkos | pig (snout) |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | suH- | pig, hog, swine |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | sewH- | to bear; to give birth |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | sew- | to press out, extract; juice; liquid, rain; to... |
via English Eye
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Eye | A place name |
| 2 | English | -some | Characterized by some specific condition or... |
| 3 | Middle English | -som | some; having a specific quality |
| 4 | Old English | sum | some |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *sum | some |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | sumaz | some (one), a certain (one) |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sem- | together, one |