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
- Any of several wading birds in the genus...
Ancestry of “woodcock”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | wuducoc | a woodcock |
| 2 | Old English | wudu | wood; forest, woods; tree |
| 3 | Old English | widu | wood, forest, grove; tree; timber |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | widuz | wood |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | widʰu- | forest, wood; tree, beam |