aardvark (English)

Where does "aardvark" come from?

The word "aardvark" was borrowed into English from Afrikaans, where it is a compound of "aarde" (earth) and "vark" (pig). These roots trace back to Middle Dutch and Proto-Germanic, reflecting the animal's pig-like appearance and its habit of burrowing into the ground. Interestingly, the ancient root for the "pig" component once meant "digger," making the name a fitting double reference to the creature's physical form and its subterranean activities.

Full etymology tree

• aardvark (English), 'The nocturnal, insectivorous, burrowing, mammal Orycteropus afer, of the order Tubulidentata, somewhat resembling a pig, common in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa.'
  • borrowed aardvark (Afrikaans), 'alternative form of erdvark'
    • compound aarde (Afrikaans), 'Earth (planet)'
      • inherited aarde (Dutch), 'earth, soil, ground'
        • inherited āerde (Middle Dutch), 'alternative form of erde'
          • inherited ertha (Old Dutch), 'earth'
            • inherited *erþu (Proto-West Germanic), 'earth, world'
              • inherited *erþō (Proto-Germanic), 'earth'
                • inherited *h₁érteh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)
    • compound vark (Afrikaans), 'pig'
      • clipping varken (Dutch), 'pig (Sus scrofa domesticus)'
        • inherited varken (Middle Dutch)
          • inherited farkīn (Old Dutch)
            • inherited *farh (Proto-West Germanic), 'piglet'
              • inherited *farhaz (Proto-Germanic), 'pig, piglet'
                • inherited *pórḱos (Proto-Indo-European), 'piglet'

Direct ancestors

• h₁er- (Proto-Indo-European)
• aardvark (Afrikaans)
• aerde (Middle Dutch)
• aarde (Afrikaans)
• vark (Afrikaans)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris