English
evil
Evil comes from Old English yfel ‘bad, evil’, from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz ‘evil, bad’, whose deeper origin is disputed.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ubilaz‘evil, bad’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ubil‘evil, bad’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150yfel‘bad, evil’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yvel‘morally evil’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591evil
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ubilaz‘evil, bad’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ubil‘evil, bad’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150yfel‘bad, evil’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yvel‘morally evil’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591evil
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Ah, what a sign it is of evil life,…”
The story
See -le for the supposed suffix.
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *ubilaz ‘evil, bad’
Today it means
adj Intending to harm; malevolent.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *ubilaz / evil