Etymograph

English

ale

Ale comes from Old English ealu ‘beer, ale’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *alu.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*alu‘beer’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘beer’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150ealu‘beer’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ale
  5. Englishtodaysame form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*alu‘beer’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘beer’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150ealu‘beer’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ale
  5. Englishtodaysame form

Linked words

pairs

  • ale and bridal both from Old English ealu

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂elut- ‘beer’

aluminium, alum, 2 more

Today it means

noun A beer or beerlike drink produced by so-called warm fermentation and unpressurized.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *alu / ale

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