English
greenfinch
Compound of green + finch.
Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to grow (of plants?)’
Proto-Indo-European *gróh₁nis
Proto-Germanic *grōniz ‘green’
Proto-West Germanic *grōnī ‘green’
Old English grēne ‘green’
Middle English grene ‘green’
English green
Proto-Indo-European *(s)ping-
Proto-Germanic *finkô ‘finch’
Old English finċ ‘a finch’
Middle English fynch ‘finch’
English finch
Today it means
noun Any bird within the genus Chloris (formerly a subset of the genus Carduelis), small passerine songbirds with yellow-green plumage, found throughout Eurasia.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / greenfinch