The story
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)ping-
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)píngis
- Proto-Germanic*finkiz
- Proto-Indo-European*(s)ping-
- Proto-Germanic*finkô
- Old Englishfinċ
- Middle Englishfynch
- English todayfinch
From Middle English fynch, from Old English finċ, from Proto-West Germanic *finki, from Proto-Germanic *finkiz (compare Dutch vink, German Fink), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pingos (“chaffinch”). Compare Welsh pinc (“finch”), Ancient Greek σπίγγος (spíngos, “chaffinch”), Russian пе́нка (pénka, “wren”), Sanskrit फिङ्गक (phiṅgaka, “drongo, shrike”).
Words from the same roots
Old Englishfinċ all →
FinchleyFinkley
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.