Etymograph

English

anneal

Anneal comes from Old English onǣlan ‘to burn, ignite, set fire to, consume, heat,…’.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150onǣlan‘to burn, ignite, set fire to, consume, heat, enlighten, incite, inflame, inspire, kindle’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500anelen
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1706anneal

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150onǣlan‘to burn, ignite, set fire to, consume, heat, enlighten, incite, inflame, inspire, kindle’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500anelen
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1706anneal

Earliest quotation: 1706, John Potter, Of the Parts, Ornaments, &c. of Ships: “It was customary to beautify the Prow with Gold,…”

A compound of *ana ‘on’ + *ailijaną ‘to burn’

Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- ‘to burn’

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éydʰ-lom

Proto-Germanic *ailą ‘fire’

Proto-Germanic *ailijaną ‘to burn’

The story

The double-N spelling may have arisen by analogy with Latinate verbs like announce, annex, and annul. The word is related to Old English onāl (‘that which is burnt, burning; incense’), Old English āl (‘fire, burning’), Icelandic eldur (‘fire’), Swedish eld (‘fire, flame’), Danish ild (‘fire’).

Every English word from Old English onǣlan

Today it means

verb To subject to great heat and then (often slow) cooling, and sometimes reheating and further cooling, for the purpose of rendering less brittle; to temper; to toughen.

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

Etymograph / Old English onǣlan / anneal

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