Etymology

ringtail

R1I1N1G2T1A1I1L1

Today it means: A North American ringtail, Bassariscus astutus Full definition →

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

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)ker-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*(s)krengʰ-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*(s)krengʰos
  4. Proto-Germanic*hringaz
  5. Proto-West Germanic*hring
  6. Old Englishhring
  7. Middle Englishryng
  8. Englishring
  9. Proto-Germanic*taglą
  10. Proto-West Germanic*tagl
  11. Old Englishtæġl
  12. Middle Englishtayl
  13. Englishtail
  14. English todayringtail

From ring + tail.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.