English
foul
Foul comes from Old English fūl ‘foul, dirty, unclean, impure, vile, corrupt,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *puH-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*puH-‘foul, rotten’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fūlaz‘foul, rotten’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fūl‘foul, dirty’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fūl‘foul, dirty, unclean, impure, vile, corrupt, rotten, stinking, guilty’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ffoul
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596foul
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*puH-‘foul, rotten’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fūlaz‘foul, rotten’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fūl‘foul, dirty’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fūl‘foul, dirty, unclean, impure, vile, corrupt, rotten, stinking, guilty’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ffoul
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596foul
Earliest quotation: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “So foul a sky clears not without a storm.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *puH- ‘foul, rotten’
through Proto-Germanic *fūlaz ‘foul, rotten’
through Proto-West Germanic *fūl ‘foul, dirty’
Another origin of foul
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fūlāną‘to rot’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fūlēn‘to become foul’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fūlian‘to become foul’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foulen‘to dirty or foul’
- Englishtodayfoul
Today it means
adj Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *puH- / foul