Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “gill” come from?

Gill comes from Middle English gile, from Old Norse gil, from Old French guile, from Frankish wigila, a word of uncertain ultimate origin and meaning.

gill (English): a breathing organ of fish and other aquatic...

Definitions

  1. a breathing organ of fish and other aquatic...

Ancestry of “gill”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishgilegill
2Anglo-Normangile—
3Old Frenchguiletrickery; deception
4Old Englishwīlwile, trick
5Proto-Germanicwīlącraft, deceit
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwéy-—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanéǵh₂I

Words derived from “gill”

  • bluegill
  • gell
  • gilled
  • gillnet
  • sixgill
  • sevengill
  • gillnetter
  • gillless
  • greengill
  • ungilled
  • brittlegill
  • flirt-gill
  • nongilled
  • gill trama
  • gillhouse
Every word from Proto-Indo-European éǵh₂ →