Where does “grassnákur” come from?
grassnákur (Icelandic) comes from Icelandic snákur, from Old Norse snákr, from Proto-Germanic snakô, from Proto-Germanic snakaną, from Proto-Indo-European sneg- — to crawl, creeping thing.
grassnákur (Icelandic): grass snake
Ancestry of “grassnákur”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Icelandic | snákur | a snake |
| 2 | Old Norse | snákr | "only in poetry"; a snake |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | snakô | snake |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | snakaną | to crawl |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | sneg- | to crawl, creeping thing |