English
kill
Kill comes from Middle English killen.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500killen
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606kill
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500killen
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606kill
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “A Troope of Horſe with Felt: Ile put't in…”
Every English word from Middle English killen
Today it means
verb To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English killen / kill