Etymology

shearwater

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Today it means: Any of the long-winged pelagic seabirds of the family Procellariidae in genera Puffinus, Ardenna, and Calonectris, that breed on islands and coastal cliffs. Full definition →

English water ← Middle English water ← Old English wæter
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)ker-
  2. Proto-Germanic*skeraną
  3. Proto-West Germanic*skeran
  4. Old Englishsċieran
  5. Middle Englishscheren
  6. Englishshear
  7. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  9. Proto-Germanic*watōr
  10. Proto-West Germanic*watar
  11. Old Englishwæter
  12. Middle Englishwater
  13. Englishwater
  14. English todayshearwater

From shear + water.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.