Etymograph

English

subtly

Subtly comes from Middle English sotilly ‘Smartly, wisely, judiciously’, from sotil ‘Discerning, perceptive, effective, intelligent’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *tekslā.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tekslāreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēla‘a web’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubtīlis‘fine, thin, slender’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sotil
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sotil‘Discerning, perceptive, effective, intelligent’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500sotilly‘Smartly, wisely, judiciously’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1533subtly

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tekslāreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēla‘a web’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsubtīlis‘fine, thin, slender’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sotil
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sotil‘Discerning, perceptive, effective, intelligent’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500sotilly‘Smartly, wisely, judiciously’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1533subtly

Earliest quotation: 1533, Erasmus of Roterdame, The Thyrde Instruction: “Nexte cometh Arrius by ſoo muche the more wretched…”

Formed from subtle + -ly

Latin subtīlis ‘of texture: delicate, fine’

Anglo-Norman sotel

Middle English sotil ‘Discerning, perceptive, effective, intelligent’

English subtle

Linked words

through Latin tēla ‘a web’

tiller, toilette, tela, 8 more

Today it means

adv With subtleness, in a subtle manner; with cleverness rather than brute force.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *tekslā / subtly

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