English
feather
Feather comes from Middle English fethere ‘a wing feather’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-‘to fly’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂r̥‘feather’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*feþrōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*feþrureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feþer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fethere‘a wing feather’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1605–1608feather
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-‘to fly’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*péth₂r̥‘feather’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*feþrōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*feþrureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feþer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fethere‘a wing feather’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1605–1608feather
Earliest quotation: c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, The Life of Tymon of Athens: “I am not of that feather to shake off…”
The story
The sense correlated with splines and keys (noun sense 4) probably reflects analogy with the fletching sense (noun sense 3).
Linked words
pairs
- feather and helicopter both from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’
through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’
pass, mile, expansion, compete, pen, expand, petition, repeat, patent, competitor, symptom, perpetual, spawn, impetus, expanse, pennant, perpetuate, petulant, perpetuity, pinion, impetuous, patina, patella, penna, pata, petulance, 83 more
through Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ‘feather, wing’
Today it means
noun A branching, hair-like structure that grows on the bodies of birds, used for flight, swimming, protection and display.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- / feather