English

tailfan

From tail + fan.

A compound of tail + fan

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

Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’

Latin vannus ‘fan for winnowing grain’

Old English fann ‘a winnowing fan’

Middle English fan

English fan

Today it means

noun The outer part of a bird's tail, farthest from the body.

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