English
tailfirst
From tail + first.
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
Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘before’
…
Proto-Germanic *furistaz ‘first’
Proto-West Germanic *furist
Old English fyrest
Middle English first
English first
Today it means
adv With the tail in front.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “tailfirst”. 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 / tailfirst