Where does “вертишейка” come from?

вертишейка (Russian) comes from German Wendehals, from German wenden, from Middle High German wenden, from Old High German wenten, from Proto-West Germanic *wandijan, from Proto-Germanic wandijaną, from Proto-Indo-European wendʰ- — to wind, to turn.

вертишейка (Russian): wryneck

Definitions

  1. wryneck

Ancestry of “вертишейка”, step by step

вертишейка traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via German Wendehals

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanWendehalsThe Eurasian wryneck; An opportunist, a person...
2Germanwendento turn something so as to cook or roast it from...
3Middle High Germanwenden
4Old High Germanwentento turn
5Proto-West Germanic*wandijanto turn
6Proto-Germanicwandijanąto turn
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwendʰ-to wind, to turn

via Russian верте́ть

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianверте́тьto turn, to twist
2Proto-Slavicvьrtě̀tito turn; turn; to rotate

via Russian ше́я

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianше́яneck
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wendʰ-Every word from Proto-Germanic wandijanąEvery word from Proto-West Germanic *wandijan
вертишейка — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer