Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “chilling” come from?

I need to work through this carefully, as the chain seems problematic. Looking at the chain provided: - English chill | English will | English ich | Old English iċ | Old English iċ | Proto-Indo-European éǵh₂ | Proto-Indo-European h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ | Proto-Indo-European éǵh₂ This chain is incoherent. "Chill" does not etymologically derive from "will" or "ich/iċ" (first person pronoun). The chain appears to conflate multiple different etymologies. For "chilling" (the gerund of "chill"), the actual etymology would trace back through Middle English and Old English *cēol/cile* (meaning cold, cool), but this chain doesn't support that. Given the instruction to "state only what the

chilling (English): Becoming cold; Causing cold; Causing mild fear

Definitions

  1. Becoming cold; Causing cold; Causing mild fear

Ancestry of “chilling”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishchillA moderate, but uncomfortable and penetrating...
2Middle Englishichille—
3Middle EnglishWill—
4Middle EnglishWilliam—
5Anglo-NormanWillame—
6Old High GermanWillahelmWilliam
7Old High Germanhelmhelmet
8Proto-West Germanichelmhelmet
9Proto-Germanichelmazhelmet
10Proto-Germanichalmazhalm; stem; stalk; straw; hay
11Proto-Indo-Europeanḱolh₂mosstalk
12Proto-Indo-Europeanḱelh₂-to pierce, strike; to stick; prick; stab

Words derived from “chilling”

  • chillingly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱelh₂- →