Etymology

wheelbird

W4H4E1E1L1B3I1R1D2

Today it means: The European goatsucker. Full definition →

English bird ← Middle English brid ← Old English bridd
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷekʷléh₂
  3. Proto-Germanic*hweulō
  4. Old Englishhwēol
  5. Middle Englishwhel
  6. Englishwheel
  7. Old Englishbridd
  8. Middle Englishbrid
  9. Englishbird
  10. English todaywheelbird

From wheel + bird, from the sound of its cry?

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.