Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “mistil-tān” come from?

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

mistil-tān (Old English): mistletoe

Definitions

  1. mistletoe

Ancestry of “mistil-tān”, step by step

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

Words derived from “mistil-tān”

  • mistletoe
  • mistletoebird
  • mistletoed
  • mistelto
  • mistel-tō
Every word from Proto-Indo-European doynos →