English

hoverfly

From hover + fly.

A compound of hover + fly

Middle English hoveren ‘to float in the air, hover’

English hover

Proto-Indo-European *plew- ‘to fly, flow, run’

…

Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ ‘flying insect, fly’

Proto-West Germanic *fleugā ‘fly’

Old English flēge ‘a fly’

Middle English fflye

English fly

Today it means

noun Any of various flies from the family Syrphidae that hover in the air and feed on the nectar of flowers.

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

Etymograph / hoverfly