Where does “толстоголовка” come from?

толстоголовка (Russian) comes from Russian голова́, from Old East Slavic голова, from Proto-Slavic golvà, from Proto-Balto-Slavic galˀwā́ˀ, from Proto-Indo-European gelH- — naked; head.

толстоголовка (Russian): skipper (Hesperiidae)

Definitions

  1. skipper (Hesperiidae)

Ancestry of “толстоголовка”, step by step

толстоголовка traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Russian голова́

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianголова́head; mind, brains; head
2Old East Slavicголова—
3Proto-Slavicgolvàhead
4Proto-Balto-Slavicgalˀwā́ˀhead
5Proto-Indo-EuropeangelH-naked; head

via Russian то́лстый

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianто́лстыйstout
2Russian-щинаSuffix added to stems to show that it is a collective or a condition; -hood, -dom, -ness, -ism
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gelH- →Every word from Proto-Balto-Slavic galˀwā́ˀ →Every word from Proto-Slavic golvà →