Etymograph

English

flugel

Flugel comes from German Flügel ‘wing’, from Proto-Germanic *fleuganą ‘to fly’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plew- ‘flow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-1‘flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-1‘to fly, flow, run’reconstructedenlargement of *plew-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganą2‘to fly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flugilaz3‘wing’reconstructed
  5. Old High Germanc. 750–1050*flugil3reconstructed
  6. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350vlügel3
  7. Germanc. 1650–presentFlügel4‘wing’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1958flugel4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fleuganą
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *flugilaz
  3. 3 Wiktionary, German Flügel
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English flugel
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1958, Patrick Hadley, Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No 9: a guide to the best record: “Patrick Hadley, who had heard the live broadcast of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fleuganą‘flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fleuganą‘to fly, flow, run’reconstructedenlargement of *plew-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *flugilaz‘to fly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flugilazWiktionary, German Flügel‘wing’reconstructed
  5. Old High Germanc. 750–1050*flugilWiktionary, German Flügelreconstructed
  6. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350vlügelWiktionary, German Flügel
  7. Germanc. 1650–presentFlügelWiktionary, English flugel‘wing’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1958flugelWiktionary, English flugel. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1958, Patrick Hadley, Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No 9: a guide to the best record: “Patrick Hadley, who had heard the live broadcast of…”

The story

Applied to the harpsichord and grand piano due to their wing-like shape.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *plew- ‘flow’

flow, pneumonia, plutonium, plough, plover, flue, plutocracy, 23 more

through Proto-Indo-European *plewk- ‘to fly, flow, run’

fowler, flee, flock, floss, fogle, 8 more

through Proto-Germanic *fleuganą ‘to fly’

flight, fly, flew, flown, fowl, flay, 3 more

Today it means

noun A harpsichord.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “flugel”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *fleuganą, Proto-Germanic *flugilaz, German Flügel. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *plew- / flugel

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