Where does “yellowshanks” come from?
yellowshanks (English) comes from English yellow, from Middle English yelow, from Old English ġeolu, from Proto-West Germanic gelu, from Proto-Germanic gelwaz, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃wós, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃- — to flourish; green, yellow.
yellowshanks (English): A bird, the yellowlegs
Definitions
- A bird, the yellowlegs
Ancestry of “yellowshanks”, step by step
yellowshanks traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English yellow
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | yellow | Having yellow as its color; Lacking courage;... |
| 2 | Middle English | yelow | yellow, yellowish, gold; yellow-coloured;... |
| 3 | Old English | ġeolu | yellow |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | gelu | yellow |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | gelwaz | yellow |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰelh₃wós | yellow, green |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰelh₃- | to flourish; green, yellow |
via English shanks
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | shanks | plural of shank; Third-person singular simple... |