Etymograph

English

evildoer

Evildoer comes from Middle English yvel doer.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yvel doer
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1611evildoer

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yvel doer
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1611evildoer

Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Fret not thy ſelfe becauſe of euill doers, neither…”

A compound of evil + doer

Proto-Germanic *ubilaz ‘evil, bad’

Proto-West Germanic *ubil ‘evil, bad’

Old English yfel ‘bad, evil’

Middle English yvel ‘morally evil’

English evil

Old English dōere ‘a doer’

Middle English doer ‘doer, agent’

English doer

Every English word from Middle English yvel doer

Today it means

noun A person who performs evil acts.

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

Etymograph / Middle English yvel doer / evildoer

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