English

forkbeard

From fork + beard.

A compound of fork + beard

Latin furca ‘pitchfork, forked stake’

Proto-West Germanic *furkō

Old English force ‘forked instrument used to torture’

Middle English forke ‘digging fork’

English fork

Proto-Indo-European *bʰardʰéh₂

Proto-Germanic *bardaz

Proto-West Germanic *bard

Old English beard

Middle English berd

English beard

Today it means

noun A European fish (Raniceps raninus), having a large flat head.

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

Etymograph / forkbeard