Etymograph

English

feal

Feal comes from Middle English fele ‘good, excellent’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pey- ‘to adore’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pey-‘to adore’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*failijaz‘true, friendly, familiar, good’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*failī‘true, friendly, familiar, good’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fǣle‘faithful, trusty, good’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fele‘good, excellent’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1822feal

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pey-‘to adore’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*failijaz‘true, friendly, familiar, good’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*failī‘true, friendly, familiar, good’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fǣle‘faithful, trusty, good’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fele‘good, excellent’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1822feal

Earliest quotation: 1822, Allan Cunningham, Death of the Laird Of Warlsworm: “[…] when I care na to accompany ye to…”

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *pey-

Another origin of feal

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pele(w)-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*felhaną‘to conceal, hide, bury, trust, intrude’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CEProto-Norse formtransliteratedrunes ᚠᛖᛚᛡᚺreconstructed
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350fela‘to hide’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500felen
  6. Englishtodayfeal

Today it means

adj (of things) Cosy; clean; neat.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pey- / feal

Shirt and support for this word