Where does “fauna” come from?

fauna (New Latin) comes from English avifauna, from Latin avis, from Proto-Italic awis, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éwis — bird.

fauna (New Latin): animals

Definitions

  1. animals

Ancestry of “fauna”, step by step

fauna traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English avifauna

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishavifaunaThe birds, or all the kinds of birds, inhabiting...
2Latinavisa bird; omen, portent; dative/ablative plural of...
3Proto-Italicawisbird
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éwisbird

via Latin Fauna

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinFaunaRoman goddess
2LatinFaunusFaunus horned god of the forest, plains and fields
3Latinfaveōto be favorable, to be well disposed or inclined towards, to favor, promote, befriend, countenance, protect
4Proto-Indo-Europeangʰoweh₁to notice

Words derived from “fauna”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂éwis →Every word from Proto-Italic awis →Every word from English avifauna →
fauna — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer