Where does “Nonnenfalter” come from?

Nonnenfalter (German) comes from German Falter, from German -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-West Germanic -ārī, from Proto-Germanic -ārijaz, from Latin -ārius, from Proto-Italic *-āzios — Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals).

Nonnenfalter (German): black arched moth, nun moth (Lymantria monacha)

Definitions

  1. black arched moth, nun moth (Lymantria monacha)

Ancestry of “Nonnenfalter”, step by step

Nonnenfalter traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via German Falter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanFalteran insect of the order Lepidoptera, i.e. a...
2German-erForms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to...
3Old High German-āriused to form agent nouns
4Proto-West Germanic-ārī-er
5Proto-Germanic-ārijaz-er
6Latin-āriuser
7Proto-Italic*-āziosForms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals)

via German Nonne

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanNonnenun; nun moth
2Old Englishnunnenun; vestal
3Old High Germannunna
4Latinnonnanun
5Latinnonnusmonk; tutor; old person
6Proto-Indo-Europeannana-

via German N

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanNAbbreviation of Nord; north
2GermanNordthe north; a wind coming from the north
Every word from Proto-Italic *-āzios