Etymology

springtail

S1P3R1I1N1G2T1A1I1L1

Today it means: Any of various wingless hexapods, of the subclass Collembola, with spring-like legs. Full definition →

First used 18th c.
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

From spring + tail.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 18th c. Any of various wingless hexapods, of the subclass Collembola, with spring-like legs.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.