Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “neal” come from?

neal (English) comes from English neeld, from Middle English nedle, from Old English nǣdl, from Proto-Germanic *nāþlu, from Proto-Germanic nēþlō, from Proto-Indo-European (s)neh₁- — to spin , to sew.

neal (English): To temper by heat; To be tempered by heat

Definitions

  1. To temper by heat; To be tempered by heat

Ancestry of “neal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishneeldA needle
2Middle Englishnedle—
3Old Englishnǣdl—
4Proto-Germanic*nāþlu—
5Proto-Germanicnēþlōneedle
6Proto-Indo-European(s)neh₁-to spin , to sew
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)neh₁- →