English
tailshield
From tail + shield.
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 *(s)kelH- ‘cut, split’
Proto-Germanic *skelduz
Proto-West Germanic *skeldu
Old English scield
Middle English scheld ‘a shield’
English shield
Today it means
noun The pygidium.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “tailshield”. 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 / tailshield