English
springtail
From spring + tail.
Proto-Indo-European *sperǵʰ- ‘to hurry’
…
Proto-Germanic *springaną ‘to burst forth’
Proto-West Germanic *springan ‘to spring’
Old English springan ‘to spring’
Middle English springen
English spring
Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- ‘to tear, fray, shred’
…
Proto-Germanic *taglą ‘hair, fiber’
Proto-West Germanic *tagl
Old English tæġel
Middle English tail
English tail
Today it means
noun Any of various wingless hexapods, of the subclass Collembola, with spring-like legs.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “springtail”. 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 / springtail