Where does “Seeschwalbe” come from?

Seeschwalbe (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.

Seeschwalbe (German): tern

Definitions

  1. tern

Ancestry of “Seeschwalbe”, step by step

Seeschwalbe 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 see

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanseelake
Every word from Proto-Germanic swalwǭEvery word from Proto-West Germanic *swalwāEvery word from Old High German swalwa
Seeschwalbe — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer