English
exile
Exile comes from Latin exsilium ‘state of exile’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sel- ‘to spring’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sel-‘to spring’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsul‘exiled person’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsilium‘state of exile’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400essil
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500exil
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593exile
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sel-‘to spring’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsul‘exiled person’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsilium‘state of exile’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400essil
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500exil
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593exile
Earliest quotation: c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: “Thou art an exile, and thou must not stay.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sel- ‘to spring’
result, sale, savage, salmon, insult, sally, salon, salvage, silva, resilient, salient, salle, sylvan, sill, somersault, salacious, slink, selva, seel, selly, 18 more
Today it means
noun The state of being banished from one's home or country.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sel- / exile