Where does “Wolfspinne” come from?

Wolfspinne (German) comes from German wolf, from Middle High German wolf, from Old High German wolf, from Proto-West Germanic wulf, from Proto-Germanic wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European wĺ̥kʷos — wolf.

Wolfspinne (German): wolf spider

Definitions

  1. wolf spider

Ancestry of “Wolfspinne”, step by step

Wolfspinne traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German wolf

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanwolfwolf
2Middle High Germanwolfwolf
3Old High Germanwolfwolf
4Proto-West Germanicwulfwolf
5Proto-Germanicwulfazwolf
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwĺ̥kʷoswolf

via German spinne

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanspinnefirst-person singular indicative present of...
2Middle High Germanspinne—
3Old High Germanspinna—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wĺ̥kʷos →Every word from Proto-Germanic wulfaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic wulf →