Etymograph

English

kayles

Kayles comes from Middle English keyle ‘skittle’, from Middle Dutch kegel ‘cone, wedge’, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *kagō ‘bush, shrub’.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kagō‘bush, shrub’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*kagil‘stake, pole, pile’reconstructed
  3. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*kegilreconstructed
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500kegel‘cone, wedge’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500keyle‘skittle’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500keylesplural of keyle
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1971kayles

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kagō‘bush, shrub’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*kagil‘stake, pole, pile’reconstructed
  3. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*kegilreconstructed
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500kegel‘cone, wedge’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500keyle‘skittle’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500keylesplural of keyle
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1971kayles

Earliest quotation: 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background: “Playing kayles, i.e. throwing a stick at ninepins, at…”

Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *kagō

Today it means

noun The game of skittles or ninepins.

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

Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *kagō / kayles

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