English
kyle
Kyle comes from Scottish Gaelic caol ‘narrow’, from Proto-Celtic *koilos ‘thin’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skey- ‘to dissect’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skey-‘to dissect’reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*koilos‘thin’reconstructed
- Old Irishc. 600–900coíl‘narrow, slender’
- Middle Irishc. 900–1200cáel
- Scottish Gaelicmoderncaol‘narrow’
- Englishearliest quotation 1877kyle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skey-‘to dissect’reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*koilos‘thin’reconstructed
- Old Irishc. 600–900coíl‘narrow, slender’
- Middle Irishc. 900–1200cáel
- Scottish Gaelicmoderncaol‘narrow’
- Englishearliest quotation 1877kyle
Earliest quotation: 1877, John Campbell Shairp, The Clearing of the Glens: “[T]hough remote / From the main ocean many a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *skey- ‘to dissect’
nice, science, ship, equipment, scientific, shift, shed, skip, conscious, ski, shin, squire, sheath, skeet, prescient, skiff, chine, scuttle, skein, shud, scullery, 44 more
Today it means
noun A narrow arm or channel of the sea between an island and the mainland, or between two islands.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *skey- / kyle