Where does “wildfowl” come from?
Wildfowl derives from English wild and English fowl, with wild tracing to Middle English weeld, Latin follis, and Proto-Indo-European bʰelǵʰ-.
wildfowl (English): Any wild bird such as ducks, geese or swans;...
Definitions
- Any wild bird such as ducks, geese or swans;...
Ancestry of “wildfowl”, step by step
wildfowl traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English fowl
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fowl | A bird; A bird of the order Galliformes,... |
| 2 | Middle English | foul | Alternative form of fole; Alternative form of... |
| 3 | Old English | fuġol | bird |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | fugl | bird |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fuglaz | bird |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fluglaz | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | fleuganą | to fly |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | plewk- | to fly, flow, run; to splash, to flap with hands |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | plew- | to fly, flow, run |