finch

Meaning

Noun

1. Any Eurasian goldfinch (of species Carduelis carduelis, syn. Fringilla carduelis).
2. Any bird of the family Fringillidae, seed-eating passerine birds, native chiefly to the Northern Hemisphere and usually having a conical beak.
3. Any bird of other families of similar appearance to members of family Fringillidae.

Verb

To hunt for finches, to go finching.

Synonyms

chaffinch

linnet

bird

🐦

oriole

sparrow

African citril

Translations

pinson

vink

Fink

fringuello

pinzón

Carduelis

tentilhão

pinsà

σπίζα

σπίνος

boekvink

Buchfink

Fringilla

fringilla

Pronounced as (IPA)

/fɪnt͡ʃ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: fynch

Inherited from Old English: finċ

Cognate with Dutch: vink

Cognate with German: Fink

Cognate with Welsh: pinc

Cognate with Ancient Greek: σπίγγος

Cognate with Russian: пе́нка

Cognate with Sanskrit: फिङ्गक

In summary

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *(s)ping-
Proto-Germanic *finkiz
Proto-Indo-European *(s)ping-
Proto-Germanic *finkô
Old English finċ
Middle English fynch
English finch
From Middle English fynch, from Old English finċ, from Proto-West Germanic *finki, from Proto-Germanic *finkiz (compare Dutch vink, German Fink), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pingos (“chaffinch”). Compare Welsh pinc (“finch”), Ancient Greek σπίγγος (spíngos, “chaffinch”), Russian пе́нка (pénka, “wren”), Sanskrit फिङ्गक (phiṅgaka, “drongo, shrike”).