ostrich (English)

Where does "ostrich" come from?

The English word 'ostrich' descends through Middle English 'ostrich'[1], drawing from Anglo-Norman 'ostrige'[1][2] and Old French 'ostruce'[1][2], which was first attested in 1130[4]. These forms trace back to Vulgar Latin '*austruthio'[1][2][4], originating from the combination of Latin 'avis' meaning 'bird' and 'struthiō' meaning 'ostrich'[1]. That Latin root itself derives from Ancient Greek 'strouthíōn'[1][4], or alternatively from the compound Ancient Greek 'strouthokắmēlos'[1], meaning 'sparrow camel'[3] because of the bird's long neck[3].

Open questions

• The etymology of the Ancient Greek word for sparrow remains highly uncertain, with some suspecting a Pre-Greek origin. [7]

Full etymology tree

• ostrich (English), 'A large flightless bird of the order Struthioniformes.'
  • inherited ostrich (Middle English), 'ostrich (Struthio camelus)'
    • borrowed ostrige (Old French), 'ostrich'
      • inherited *austruthio (Vulgar Latin)
        • derived avis (Latin), 'a bird'
          • inherited *awis (Proto-Italic), 'bird'
        • derived struthio (Latin), 'ostrich'
          • derived στρουθός (strouthós) (Ancient Greek), 'house sparrow (Passer domesticus)'
            • borrowed (Pre-Greek)
          • suffix -ίων (-íōn) (Ancient Greek), 'Suffix added to father's name that forms masculine patronymic, meaning "son of"'
    • borrowed ostruce (Old French), 'ostrich'
      • inherited *austruthio (Vulgar Latin)
        • derived avis (Latin), 'a bird'
          • inherited *awis (Proto-Italic), 'bird'
        • derived struthio (Latin), 'ostrich'
          • derived στρουθός (strouthós) (Ancient Greek), 'house sparrow (Passer domesticus)'
            • borrowed (Pre-Greek)
          • suffix -ίων (-íōn) (Ancient Greek), 'Suffix added to father's name that forms masculine patronymic, meaning "son of"'
  • borrowed struthiocamelus (Latin), 'ostrich'
    • borrowed στρουθοκάμηλος (strouthokámelos) (Ancient Greek), 'ostrich (Struthio camelus)'
      • compound στρουθός (strouthós) (Ancient Greek), 'house sparrow (Passer domesticus)'
        • borrowed (Pre-Greek)
      • compound κάμηλος (kámēlos) (Ancient Greek), 'camel'
        • inherited *gamal- (Proto-West Semitic), 'camel'

Ancestors

• ostrich (Middle English)
• ostruce (Old French)
• στρουθίων (Ancient Greek)
• στρουθοκάμηλος (Ancient Greek)

Cognates and doublets

• avestruz (Portuguese)
• avestruz (Spanish)

Descendants and derived words

• ostrich dinosaur (English)
• ostrich fern (English)
• ostrich instruction (English)
• ostrichism (English)
• ostrichitis (English)
• ostrichize (English)
• ostrichize (English)
• ostrichlike (English)
• ostrich policy (English)
• ostrich politics (English)
• ostrichy (English)
• osturducken (English)

Sources

1. ostrich (English) - Wiktionary
2. ostrich (Middle English) - Wiktionary
3. στρουθοκάμηλος (strouthokámelos) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
4. ostruce (Old French) - Wiktionary
5. στρουθίων (strouthíōn) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
6. κάμηλος (kámēlos) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
7. στρουθός (strouthós) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
8. struthio (Latin) - Wiktionary
9. avis (Latin) - Wiktionary
10. struthiocamelus (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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