Where does “Schwalbenschwanz” come from?

Schwalbenschwanz (German) comes from German Schwalbe, from Middle High German swalwe, from Old High German swalwa, from Proto-West Germanic *swalwā, from Proto-Germanic swalwǭ — swallow.

Schwalbenschwanz (German): swallowtail; dovetail

Definitions

  1. swallowtail; dovetail

Ancestry of “Schwalbenschwanz”, step by step

Schwalbenschwanz traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Schwalbe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchwalbeswallow, martin; dive; Schwalbe
2Middle High Germanswalwe—
3Old High Germanswalwa—
4Proto-West Germanic*swalwāswallow (bird)
5Proto-Germanicswalwǭswallow

via German schwanz

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschwanztail
2Middle High Germanswanztail
3Middle High Germanswanzento swing
4Middle High Germanswanken—

Words derived from “Schwalbenschwanz”

Every word from Proto-Germanic swalwǭ →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *swalwā →Every word from Old High German swalwa →