Where does “Schwebfliege” come from?

Schwebfliege (German) comes from German fliege, from Middle High German fliege, from Old High German flioga, from Proto-Germanic fleugǭ, from Proto-Germanic fleuganą, from Proto-Indo-European plewk-, from Proto-Indo-European plew- — to fly, flow, run.

Schwebfliege (German): hoverfly, flower fly

Definitions

  1. hoverfly, flower fly

Ancestry of “Schwebfliege”, step by step

Schwebfliege traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German fliege

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanfliegeinflection of fliegen: ## first-person singular...
2Middle High Germanfliege
3Old High Germanfliogafly
4Proto-Germanicfleugǭflying insect, fly
5Proto-Germanicfleuganąto fly
6Proto-Indo-Europeanplewk-to fly, flow, run; to splash, to flap with hands
7Proto-Indo-Europeanplew-to fly, flow, run

via German schweben

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanschwebento hover, to float; to soar
2Middle High Germanswëben
3Old High Germanswebēn
4Proto-GermanicswibānąTo move; sway
5Proto-Indo-Europeanksweybʰ-to move swiftly, make a swift movement; to swing,...

Words derived from “Schwebfliege

Every word from Proto-Indo-European plew-