Etymograph

English

fin

Fin comes from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pīn- ‘backbone, dorsal fin’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pīn-‘backbone, dorsal fin’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*finnōreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150finn
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fin
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1839same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pīn-‘backbone, dorsal fin’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*finnōreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150finn
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fin
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1839same form

Earliest quotation: 1839, Dearden's Miscellany: “Done say I to that, Reuben, tip me your…”

Linked words

through Middle English fin

fine

Another origin of fin

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pénkʷe‘five’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fimf‘five’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘five’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050fimf‘five’
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350vünf
  6. Yiddishmodernפֿינףfinf‘five’
  7. Englishtodayfin

Today it means

noun One of the appendages of a fish, used to propel itself and to manoeuvre/maneuver.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)pīn- / fin

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