nightingale (n.) Look up nightingale at Old English næctigalæ,
nihtegale, compound formed in Proto-Germanic (cf. Dutch
nachtegaal, German Nachtigall) from *nakht- "night" (see night)
+ *galon "to sing," related to Old English giellan "yell" (see
yell). With parasitic -n- that appeared mid-13c. Dutch
nightingale "frog" is attested from 1769. In Japanese,
"nightingale floor" is said to be the term for boards that creak
when you walk on them.