Where does “Graureiher” come from?

Graureiher (German) comes from German Reiher, from Middle High German reiger, from Old High German reigaro, from Proto-Germanic hraigrô, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kreik-.

Graureiher (German): grey heron

Definitions

  1. grey heron

Ancestry of “Graureiher”, step by step

Graureiher traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Reiher

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanReiherheron
2Middle High Germanreiger—
3Old High GermanreigaroAlternative form of heigaro
4Proto-Germanichraigrôheron
5Proto-Indo-European(s)kreik-—

via German Grau

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanGraugrey
2Middle High Germangrā—
3Old High Germangrāogrey
4Proto-Germanicgrēwazgrey
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰreh₁-to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kreik- →Every word from Proto-Germanic hraigrô →Every word from Old High German reigaro →