Etymology

From a merger of dialectal tolp (with variants; of unknown, probably onomatopoetic, origin) and Middle High German dörpel, itself dissimilated from dörper, from Middle Low German dorper ‎(“villager”), from dorp ‎(“village”). Both of these words meant “rude, gruff person”, and dörper/dörpel particularly “uncultured, unrefined person”. The name of the bird is due to its apparently clumsy movements.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtœlpəl/, [ˈtœlpəl], [ˈtœlpl̩]