English
aisle
Aisle comes from Anglo-Norman ele ‘wing’, from Latin axis ‘an axletree of wagon, car, chariot’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- ‘axis’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱs-‘axis’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aksisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaxis‘an axletree of wagon, car, chariot’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*axlareconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāla‘a wing’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400ele‘wing’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ele
- Englishearliest quotation 1907aisle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eḱs-‘axis’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aksisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaxis‘an axletree of wagon, car, chariot’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CE*axlareconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāla‘a wing’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400ele‘wing’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ele
- Englishearliest quotation 1907aisle
Earliest quotation: 1907, Harold Bindloss, Toronto: “Hester Earle and Violet Wayne were moving about the…”
The story
The modern pronunciation has been influenced by English isle, whence the obsolete form isle; the modern spelling reflects further modification of this form after modern French aile.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- ‘axis’
through Proto-Italic *aksis
through Latin axis ‘an axletree of wagon, car, chariot’
through Latin āla ‘a wing’
Today it means
noun A wing of a building, notably in a church separated from the nave proper by piers.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- / aisle