Etymology

damselfly

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Today it means: Any of various insects of the suborder Zygoptera that have long slender bodies, and are similar to dragonflies but having wings folded when at rest. Full definition →

English fly ← Middle English flye ← Old English flēoge
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dem-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dṓmder.?
  3. Proto-Italic*domVnos
  4. Latindominus
  5. Latindominicus
  6. Vulgar Latin*dominicella
  7. Vulgar Latin*domnicella
  8. Old Frenchdomnizelle
  9. Old Frenchdamoisele
  10. Middle Englishdameisele
  11. Englishdamsel
  12. Proto-Indo-European*plew-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*plewk-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*pléwketi
  15. Proto-Germanic*fleuganądeverb.
  16. Proto-Germanic*fleugǭ
  17. Proto-West Germanic*fleugā
  18. Old Englishflēoge
  19. Middle Englishflye
  20. Englishfly
  21. English todaydamselfly

From damsel + fly, where damsel ultimately from Vulgar Latin *domnicella (whence also French demoiselle, Portuguese donzelinha). Compare Danish vandnymfe, Dutch juffer, Swedish jungfruslända, Welsh mursen. Also compare ladybird, ladybug, nymph.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.