English

hooktail

From hook + tail.

A compound of hook + tail

Proto-Germanic *hōkaz

Proto-West Germanic *hōk

Old English hōc ‘hook’

Middle English hoke

English hook

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 Any dragonfly of the genus Paragomphus.

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

Etymograph / hooktail