English

featherback

From feather + back, from the small and narrow dorsal fin.

A compound of feather + back

Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to fly’

…

Proto-Germanic *feþrō

Proto-West Germanic *feþru

Old English feþer

Middle English fethere ‘a wing feather’

Proto-Germanic *baką ‘back’

Proto-West Germanic *bak

Old English bæc

Middle English bak ‘the back’

English back

Today it means

noun Any fish of the family Notopteridae.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / featherback