English

flickertail

From flicker + tail.

A compound of flicker + tail

Proto-West Germanic *flikurōn

Old English flicerian ‘to flutter’

Middle English flikeren ‘to flutter’

Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to tear, fray, shred’

…

Proto-Germanic *taglą ‘hair, fiber’

Proto-West Germanic *tagl

Old English tæġel

Middle English tail

English tail

Today it means

noun The North American ground squirrel, Citellus richardsoni.

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

Etymograph / flickertail