Where does “mégafaune” come from?
mégafaune (French) comes from French faune, from Middle French faune, from Latin Faunus, from New Latin fauna, from English avifauna, from Latin avis, from Proto-Italic awis, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éwis — bird.
mégafaune (French): megafauna
Ancestry of “mégafaune”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | faune | faun; tree grayling; fauna, wildlife |
| 2 | Middle French | faune | — |
| 3 | Latin | Faunus | Faunus |
| 4 | New Latin | fauna | animals |
| 5 | English | avifauna | The birds, or all the kinds of birds, inhabiting... |
| 6 | Latin | avis | a bird; omen, portent; dative/ablative plural of... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | awis | bird |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éwis | bird |