Where does “merganser” come from?

merganser (Late Latin) comes from Latin mergus, from Latin mergō, from Proto-Indo-European *mésgeti, from Proto-Indo-European mesg- — to dip, sink.

Ancestry of “merganser”, step by step

merganser traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin mergus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmergusdiver (loon), a kind of waterfowl
2Latinmergōto dip (in), immerse; plunge into water; drown
3Proto-Indo-European*mésgetito sink
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmesg-to dip, sink

via Latin ānser

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinānser—
2Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰh₂énsgoose

Words derived from “merganser”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mesg- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European *mésgeti →Every word from Latin mergō →