flindre

Middle English

Alternative forms
  • vlindre, ulindre

Etymology

Unknown. Possibly from Proto-Germanic *fî-faldrôn (“flying, folding”), from *fifaldǭ (“butterfly”). If so, related to Faroese firvaldur and German Falter.[1][2]

Probably also related to West Frisian flinter (“butterfly”), Dutch vlinder (“butterfly; moth”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Flinnerke (“butterfly”), Dutch vlinderen (“to flutter; fly”), and Albanian flutur (“butterfly”).

Noun

flindre (plural flindres)

  1. (zoology) moth

Descendants
  • English: flinder

References
  1. Dumitrescu, Ioana (2014): The Butterfly Effect on Languages
  2. Kroonen, Guus (2013) “fifaldra”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 140
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