English

firefinch

From fire + finch, from the colour of its plumage.

A compound of fire + finch

Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥

…

Proto-Germanic *fuïr

Proto-West Germanic *fuir

Old English fȳr ‘fire’

Middle English fyr

English fire

Proto-Indo-European *(s)ping-

Proto-Germanic *finkô

Old English finċ ‘a finch’

Middle English fynch

English finch

Today it means

noun Any of several species of finch in the genus Lagonosticta, found across sub-Saharan Africa.

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

Etymograph / firefinch