Where does “Pfauenspinner” come from?

Pfauenspinner (German) comes from German Spinner, from German spinnen, from Middle High German spinnen, from Old High German spinnan, from Proto-West Germanic spinnan, from Proto-Germanic spinnaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)pénh₁-ne-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)penh₁- — to twist; to weave.

Pfauenspinner (German): saturniid (Saturniidae)

Definitions

  1. saturniid (Saturniidae)

Ancestry of “Pfauenspinner”, step by step

Pfauenspinner traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Spinner

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSpinneragent noun of spinnen
2Germanspinnento spin; to fabricate; to be crazy
3Middle High Germanspinnen—
4Old High Germanspinnan—
5Proto-West Germanicspinnanto spin
6Proto-Germanicspinnanąto spin
7Proto-Indo-European(s)pénh₁-ne-—
8Proto-Indo-European(s)penh₁-to twist; to weave

via German Pfau

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanPfaupeacock; the constellation Pavo
2Middle Englishpawepaw; claw, talon; rough, vicious hand
3Old Frenchpoue—
4Frankishpōta—
5Proto-Germanicputōnąto stick, stab, poke; to push
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbud-to shoot, sprout; to swell
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)penh₁- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pénh₁-ne- →Every word from Proto-Germanic spinnaną →