Where does “boomslang” come from?

boomslang (Finnish) comes from Afrikaans boomslang, from Dutch boomslang, from Dutch Slang, from English slang, from English sling, from English spiderling, from English Ling, from Middle English ling — light, agile, nimble; light, not heavy, agile,...

boomslang (Finnish): boomslang venomous snake

Definitions

  1. boomslang venomous snake

Ancestry of “boomslang”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Afrikaansboomslangboomslang
2DutchboomslangA boomslang
3DutchSlangSerpens
4EnglishslangLanguage outside of conventional usage and in the...
5EnglishslingTo throw with a circular or arcing motion; To...
6EnglishspiderlingAn immature spider; Any of various herbaceous...
7EnglishLingAny of various codlike saltwater fish often used as food by humans, those of the genus Molva, in the family Lotidae
8Middle EnglishlingAny of various varieties of heather or broom
9Old Norselyngheather, ling
10Proto-Germaniclingwąheather, ling
11Proto-Indo-Europeanlengʷʰom
12Proto-Indo-Europeanlengʷʰ-light, agile, nimble; light, not heavy, agile,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European lengʷʰ-