English
squirreltail
From squirrel + tail.
Ancient Greek σκίουρος ‘shadow-tail’
Latin sciūrus
Vulgar Latin *scūriolus
Anglo-Norman esquirel
Middle English squirel ‘a squirrel’
English squirrel
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 Elymus elymoides, a species of wild rye.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / squirreltail