English
stonefly
From stone + fly.
Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- ‘to stiffen’
…
Proto-Germanic *stainaz
Proto-West Germanic *stain
Old English stān
Middle English ston ‘a stone’
English stone
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 Any of the freshwater aquatic insects in the order Plecoptera.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “stonefly”. 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 / stonefly