Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “vogel” come from?

vogel (German) comes from Middle High German vogel, from Old High German fogal, from Proto-West Germanic fugl, from Proto-Germanic fuglaz, from Proto-Germanic fluglaz, from Proto-Germanic fleuganą, from Proto-Indo-European plewk-, from Proto-Indo-European plew- — to fly, flow, run.

Ancestry of “vogel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanvogelbird
2Old High Germanfogalbird
3Proto-West Germanicfuglbird
4Proto-Germanicfuglazbird
5Proto-Germanicfluglaz—
6Proto-Germanicfleuganąto fly
7Proto-Indo-Europeanplewk-to fly, flow, run; to splash, to flap with hands
8Proto-Indo-Europeanplew-to fly, flow, run
Every word from Proto-Indo-European plew- →