English
foal
Foal comes from Old English fola ‘foal, colt’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pōlH- ‘animal young’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pōlH-‘animal young’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fulôreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*folōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fola‘foal, colt’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ffoole
- Englishearliest quotation 1859foal
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pōlH-‘animal young’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fulôreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*folōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fola‘foal, colt’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ffoole
- Englishearliest quotation 1859foal
Earliest quotation: 1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities: “All the time, our overfraught hearts are beating at…”
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *pōlH-
Today it means
noun A young horse or other equine, especially just after birth or less than a year old.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pōlH- / foal