Where does “whitefish” come from?
Whitefish derives from English white and English fish, with white tracing through French fiche and ficher to Proto-Germanic hwītaz meaning bright or pale.
whitefish (English): Any of many fish; The beluga
Definitions
- Any of many fish; The beluga
Ancestry of “whitefish”, step by step
whitefish 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 Fish
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Fish | The constellation and zodiacal sign Pisces |
| 2 | Old English | fiscian | to fish |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | fiskōn | to fish, to catch fish |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | fiskōną | to fish, to catch fish |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -ōną | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 9 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |