Where does “mistel-tō” come from?

mistel-tō (Middle English) comes from Old English mistil-tān, from Old English tān, from Proto-West Germanic *tain, from Proto-Germanic tainaz, from Proto-Indo-European doynos.

Ancestry of “mistel-tō”, step by step

mistel-tō traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English mistil-tān

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishmistil-tānmistletoe
2Old Englishtānsprig, twig; twig, switch
3Proto-West Germanic*taintwig
4Proto-Germanictainazrod; twig; straw; lot
5Proto-Indo-Europeandoynos—

via Old English mistiltān

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishmistiltān—

via Old English misteltān

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishmisteltānmistletoe
Every word from Proto-Indo-European doynos →Every word from Proto-Germanic tainaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *tain →