English
fieldfare
Fieldfare comes from Middle English feldefare ‘the fieldfare’, and goes back to Old English feldefare.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feldefare‘the fieldfare’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘the fieldfare’
- Englishearliest quotation 2007fieldfare
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150feldefare‘the fieldfare’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘the fieldfare’
- Englishearliest quotation 2007fieldfare
Earliest quotation: 2007, Diana Athill, Somewhere Towards the End: “Paul seemed relaxed, scanning the fields on either side…”
A compound of feld ‘field’ + ġefara ‘traveller’
Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- ‘flat’
Proto-Indo-European *pelth₂- ‘field, plain’
Proto-Germanic *felþuz ‘field, plain’
Proto-West Germanic *felþu ‘field’
Old English feld ‘field’
Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘going, passage’
Proto-Germanic *faraną ‘to go, to travel’
Proto-Germanic *farô ‘traveler, farer’
Proto-West Germanic *farō ‘traveller’
Old English fara ‘traveler’
Old English ġefara ‘traveller’
Every English word from Old English feldefare
Today it means
noun A large thrush, Turdus pilaris, a bird of Eurasia.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English feldefare / fieldfare