English
trochilus
Trochilus comes from Latin trochilus ‘a kind of small bird’, from Ancient Greek τροχίλος ‘Egyptian plover’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *drem- ‘to run’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drem-1‘to run’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰregʰ-1‘to run, drag’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτρέχω2trékhō‘to run’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτροχίλος2trokhílos‘Egyptian plover’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrochilus2‘a kind of small bird’
- Englishtodaytrochilus2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τρέχω
- 2 Wiktionary, English trochilus
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*drem-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τρέχω‘to run’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰregʰ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τρέχω‘to run, drag’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτρέχωWiktionary, English trochilustrékhō‘to run’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτροχίλοςWiktionary, English trochilustrokhílos‘Egyptian plover’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrochilusWiktionary, English trochilus‘a kind of small bird’
- EnglishtodaytrochilusWiktionary, English trochilus
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *drem- ‘to run’
syndrome, dormant, dormitory, dormer, dromedary, 24 more
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- ‘to run, drag’
draw, train, draft, attractive, drag, portrait, attraction, retreat, extraction, distraction, tract, draught, entreat, 52 more
Today it means
noun Any member of the hummingbird genus Trochilus.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “trochilus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek τρέχω. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *drem- / trochilus