Etymology

hammertail

H4A1M3M3E1R1T1A1I1L1

Today it means: Any of the genus Efferia of large, often dull-colored robber flies, the males of which have a mallet-like appendage at the ends of their abdomens. Full definition →

English tail ← Middle English tayl ← Old English tæġl
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The story

  1. Englishhammer
  2. Proto-Germanic*taglą
  3. Proto-West Germanic*tagl
  4. Old Englishtæġl
  5. Middle Englishtayl
  6. Englishtail
  7. English todayhammertail

From hammer + tail.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.