Etymology

dragonfly

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Today it means: An insect of the suborder Epiprocta or, more strictly, the infraorder Anisoptera, having four long transparent wings held perpendicular to a long body when perched. Full definition →

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

  1. Proto-Indo-European*derḱ-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*dérkomai
  3. Ancient Greekδέρκομαι (dérkomai)
  4. Ancient Greekδράκων (drákōn)
  5. Latindracō
  6. Old Frenchdragon
  7. Middle Englishdragoun
  8. Englishdragon
  9. Proto-Indo-European*plew-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*plewk-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*pléwketi
  12. Proto-Germanic*fleuganądeverb.
  13. Proto-Germanic*fleugǭ
  14. Proto-West Germanic*fleugā
  15. Old Englishflēoge
  16. Middle Englishflye
  17. Englishfly
  18. English todaydragonfly

From dragon + fly. Compare the piecewise doublet drakefly (“mayfly”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.