Editing Wren (section)

==Etymology and usage==
The English name "wren" derives from {{langx|enm|wrenne}} and {{langx|ang|wrænna}}, attested (as {{lang|ang|wernnaa}}) very early, in an eighth-century [[Gloss (annotation)|gloss]]. It is [[cognate]] to {{langx|goh|wrendo}}, {{lang|goh|wrendilo}}, and {{langx|is|rindill}} (the latter two including an additional diminutive ''-ilan'' suffix). The Icelandic name is attested in [[Old Icelandic]] ([[Edda]]ic) as {{lang|non|rindilþvari}}. This points to a [[Common Germanic]] name {{lang|gem|wrandjan-}}, but the further etymology of the name is unknown.<ref>Kluge-Lutz, ''English Etymology'' tentatively suggest association with Old High German ''(w)renno'' "stallion", but Suolahti (1909) rejects this as unlikely.</ref>

The wren was also known as the {{lang|goh|kuningilin}} ('kinglet') in [[Old High German]], a name associated with the [[fable]] of the election of the "king of birds". The bird that could fly to the highest altitude would be made king. The [[eagle]] outflew all other birds, but he was beaten by a small bird that had hidden in his plumage. This fable was already known to [[Aristotle]] (''[[Historia Animalium]]'' 9.11)<ref>"It goes by the nickname of 'old man' or 'king'; and the story goes that for this reason the eagle is at war with him." http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=AriHian.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=9&division=div2</ref> and [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] ([[Natural History (Pliny)|''Natural History'']] 10.95),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=10:chapter=95&highlight=wren|title=Pliny the Elder, the Natural History, BOOK X. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS., CHAP. 95. (74.)—ANTIPATHIES OF ANIMALS. PROOFS THAT THEY ARE SENSIBLE OF FRIENDSHIP AND OTHER AFFECTIONS}}</ref><ref>"The roiall Ægle hateth the Wren, and why? because (if we may beleeve it) he is named Regulus, [i. the petie-king.]" http://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny10.html</ref> and was taken up by [[medieval]] authors such as [[Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg]], but it most likely originally concerned [[kinglet]]s ({{Lang|la|Regulus}}, such as the [[goldcrest]]) and was apparently motivated by the yellow "crown" sported by these birds (a point noted already by [[Ludwig Uhland]]).<ref name=Suolahti>{{cite book|last=Suolahti|first=Viktor Hugo|title=Die deutschen Vogelnamen: eine wortgeschichtliche Untersuchung|year=1909|publisher=Karl J Trbner|language=de|location=Strassbourg|url=https://archive.org/stream/diedeutschenvoge00suol#page/80/mode/2up|pages=80–85}}</ref> The confusion stemmed in part from the similarity and consequent interchangeability of the [[Ancient Greek]] words for the wren ({{lang|grc|βασιλεύς}} {{lang|grc-Latn|basileus}}, 'king')<ref>{{LSJ|basileu/s|βασιλεύς|ref}}.</ref> and the crest ({{lang|grc|βασιλίσκος}} {{lang|grc-Latn|basiliskos}}, 'kinglet'),<ref>{{LSJ|basili/skos|βασιλίσκος|shortref}}.</ref><ref name=arnott>{{cite book|last=Arnott|first=William Geoffrey|title=Birds in the ancient world from A to Z|year=2007|location=Abingdon|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-23851-9|page=35}}</ref> and the legend's reference to the "smallest of birds" becoming king likely led the title to be transferred to the equally tiny wren.<ref name=Suolahti /><ref name=Cocker>{{cite book|last=Cocker|first=Mark|author2=Mabey, Richard|title=Birds Britannica|year=2005|location=London|page=232|publisher=Chatto & Windus|isbn=978-0-7011-6907-7}}</ref> In modern [[German language|German]], the name of the bird is {{lang|de|Zaunkönig}} ('king of the fence (or hedge)') and in [[Dutch language|Dutch]], the name is {{lang|nl|winterkoning}} ('king of winter').{{citation needed|date = July 2022}}

The family name Troglodytidae is derived from troglodyte, which means 'cave-dweller'.<ref>{{OEtymD|troglodyte}}</ref> Wrens get their scientific name from the tendency of some species to forage in dark crevices.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Vieillot | first=Louis Pierre | author-link=Louis Pierre Vieillot | year=1809 | title=Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de l'Amérique Septentrionale : contenant un grand nombre d'espèces décrites ou figurées pour la première fois | volume=2 | language=fr | location=Paris | publisher=Desray | page=52 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47004903 }} Dated 1807 on title page but not published until 1809.</ref>

The name "wren" is also ascribed to [[Wren (disambiguation)|other families]] of passerine birds throughout the world. In Europe, kinglets are occasionally known as "wrens", with the [[common firecrest]] and [[goldcrest]] known as  the "fire-crested wren" and "golden-crested wren", respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last=Doubleday |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Doubleday (entomologist) |year=1845 |title=A nomenclature of British birds |page=10 |url=https://archive.org/details/anomenclaturebr00doubgoog/page/n16/mode/1up |access-date=13 August 2024 |quote=Fire-Crested Wren Regulus Ignicapillus Cuv. and Golden-Crested Wren Regulus Cristatus Ray.}}</ref>

The 27 [[Australasia]]n "wren" species in the family [[Maluridae]] are unrelated, as are the [[New Zealand wren]]s in the family Acanthisittidae, the [[antbird]]s in the family Thamnophilidae, and the [[Old World babbler]]s of the family Timaliidae.{{citation needed|date = July 2022}}