fieldfare (English)

Where does "fieldfare" come from?

The word 'fieldfare' is a direct inheritance from Old English, where it was formed by combining 'feld' (field) and 'fara' (traveller). This aptly descriptive name captures the bird's habit of traveling across open landscapes in search of sustenance. Through centuries of usage, the term has remained structurally consistent, evolving from its Middle English predecessor into the modern English name for this familiar thrush.

Full etymology tree

fieldfare (English), 'A large thrush, Turdus pilaris, a bird of Eurasia.'
- inherited feldefare (Middle English), 'The fieldfare (Turdus pilaris).'
  - inherited feldefare (Old English), 'The fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)'
- compound field (English), 'A land area free of woodland, cities, and towns; an area of open country.'
  - inherited feeld (Middle English), 'A plain (flat, open country):'
    - inherited feld (Old English), 'field'
      - inherited *felþu (Proto-West Germanic), 'field'
        inherited *felþuz (Proto-Germanic), 'field, plain'
        inherited *pleh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'flat'
- compound fare (English), 'A going; journey; travel; voyage; course; passage.'
  - inherited fare (Middle English), 'A journey, course, or travel.'
    - inherited fær (Old English), 'sudden danger, calamity'
      - inherited *far (Proto-West Germanic)
        inherited *farą (Proto-Germanic), 'a means of passing, ford, ferry'
        inherited *per- (Proto-Indo-European), 'before, in front'
    - inherited faru (Old English), 'a journey or going'
      - inherited *faru (Proto-West Germanic), 'color'
        inherited *farō (Proto-Germanic), 'a going, journey, trip'
        derived *faraną (Proto-Germanic), 'to go, to travel'
        inherited *per- (Proto-Indo-European), 'before, in front'

Direct ancestors

Updated June 2026

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