ouzel (English)
Where does "ouzel" come from?
The English noun 'ouzel' descends through Middle English 'osel' and Old English 'ōsle'[1][3], all the way from the Proto-West Germanic form '*ą̄slā'[1]. This earlier regional term traces back further to the Proto-Germanic form '*amslǭ'[1], with a modern cognate found in German as 'Amsel'.
Open questions
- The origin of the Proto-West Germanic form is uncertain, with proposals including descent from Proto-Indo-European or borrowing from an unknown substrate source. [4]
Full etymology tree
- ouzel (English), 'A Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula).'
- inherited osel (Middle English), 'blackbird'
- inherited osle (Old English), 'a (European) blackbird, an ouzel'
- inherited *ą̄slā, *amslā (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited *amslǭ (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *ą̄slā, *amslā (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited osle (Old English), 'a (European) blackbird, an ouzel'
- inherited osel (Middle English), 'blackbird'
Ancestors
- osel (Middle English)
- osle (Old English)
Cognates and doublets
- Amsel (German)
Descendants and derived words
- ring ouzel (English)
- water ouzel (English)
- white-throated dipper (English)
Sources
- ouzel (English) - Wiktionary
- osle (Old English) - Wiktionary
- osel (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- amslā (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris