Etymograph

English

ringneck

From ring + neck.

A compound of ring + neck

Proto-Indo-European *(s)krengʰ-

Proto-Germanic *hringaz

Proto-West Germanic *hring

Old English hring ‘ring’

Middle English ryng

English ring

Proto-Germanic *hnakkô ‘nape’

Proto-West Germanic *hnakkō ‘nape’

Old English hnecca ‘back of the neck’

Middle English nekke ‘the neck’

English neck

Today it means

noun Any of several unrelated birds that have a ringed neck.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ringneck”. 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 / ringneck

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