Etymograph

English

robberfly

From robber + fly.

A compound of robber + fly

Middle English robbour ‘a robber or burglar’

English robber

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

…

Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ ‘flying insect, fly’

Proto-West Germanic *fleugā ‘fly’

Old English flēge ‘a fly’

Middle English fflye

English fly

Today it means

noun —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “robberfly”. 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 / robberfly

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