Etymograph

English

ill

Ill comes from Old Norse íllr ‘evil, bad’, from Proto-Germanic *ilhilaz ‘evil’, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁elḱ-1uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ilhilaz1‘evil, bad’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350íllr1‘evil, bad’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ille1‘evil’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602ill1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ill
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “That makes us rather bear those ills we have…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁elḱ-Wiktionary, English illuncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ilhilazWiktionary, English ill‘evil, bad’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350íllrWiktionary, English ill‘evil, bad’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500illeWiktionary, English ill‘evil’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602illWiktionary, English ill. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “That makes us rather bear those ills we have…”

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elḱ-

Today it means

adj Evil; wicked (of people).

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁elḱ- / ill

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