Where does “woodcock” come from?

Woodcock comes from Middle English wodecocke, from Old English wudecocc, combining wudu (wood) from Proto-Germanic kukkaz and a bird name ultimately from Proto-Indo-European weydʰ-.

woodcock (English): Any of several wading birds in the genus...

Definitions

  1. Any of several wading birds in the genus...

Ancestry of “woodcock”, step by step

woodcock traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English wuducoc

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishwuducoca woodcock
2Old Englishwuduwood; forest, woods; tree
3Old Englishwiduwood, forest, grove; tree; timber
4Proto-Germanicwiduzwood
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwidʰu-forest, wood; tree, beam

via Middle English wodecocke

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwodecocke—
2Old Englishwudecocc—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European widʰu- →Every word from Proto-Germanic widuz →Every word from Old English widu →
woodcock — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer