Where does “scearnwifel” come from?

scearnwifel (Old English) comes from Old English wifel, from Proto-West Germanic *wibil, from Proto-Germanic wibilaz, from Proto-Indo-European webʰel-, from Proto-Indo-European webʰ- — to weave, braid.

scearnwifel (Old English): dung beetle beetles of the family

Definitions

  1. dung beetle beetles of the family

Ancestry of “scearnwifel”, step by step

scearnwifel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English wifel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old EnglishwifelBeetle
2Proto-West Germanic*wibilbeetle, weevil
3Proto-Germanicwibilaz{{l|en|weevil}}; weevil
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwebʰel-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwebʰ-to weave, braid

via Old English sċearn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishsċearndung
2Proto-West Germanic*skarn—
3Proto-Germanicskarnąfilth, dung
4Proto-Indo-Europeansḱer-to caw, crow
Every word from Proto-Indo-European webʰ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European webʰel- →Every word from Proto-Germanic wibilaz →