So "Urschwinge" is the *only* way to translate "archaeo-pteryx" into
> German and *not* completely obliterate the fact that "pteryx" can > mean a whole wing or just a remex. Possibly that's why it was chosen > by whoever introduced it.Would surprise me, actually, because that remote connection isn't usually on people's minds. "Urschwinge" is simply a poetic synonym for "Urflügel", "primordial wing". The connection to the verb schwingen "to swing" may well have been intended, however, as in poetic expressions like _sich in die Lüfte schwingen_ "to swing oneself into the air (pluralized like 'the waters')".
Schwungfeder is from Schwung = "inertia-based thrust", "momentum (colloquially and metaphorically, not in physics)": "thrust feather".
(English _swing_ and _wing_ are also related; initial s- is a chaotic and unstable affair all over Indo-European.)
BTW, Eike, your comment contains no less than three cuts left by the Yahell! Snippage Demon. I seriously recommend you send Yahell! to hell and switch to another free e-mail provider.