ptarmigan

Where does the word "ptarmigan" come from? It comes from Scottish Gaelic tàrmachan, and was adopted directly into English (1680s).

Ptarmigan’s story begins in Scottish Gaelic: tàrmachan meant “ptarmigan.” The mountain grouse that turns white in winter, found on high Scottish tops such as the Cairngorms. It reached English by 1680s as ptarmigan. The silent p- was added by Sir Robert Sibbald in his Scotia Illustrata (1684), wrongly assuming a Greek origin like pteron 'wing'. Today, ptarmigan means a grouse of mountain and Arctic regions that turns white in winter.

1. Stage 1 · Scottish Gaelic · medieval tàrmachan "ptarmigan", the mountain grouse that turns white in winter, found on high Scottish tops such as the Cairngorms.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1680s ptarmigan "mountain grouse", the silent p- was added by Sir Robert Sibbald in his Scotia Illustrata (1684), wrongly assuming a Greek origin like pteron 'wing'.