Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pail” come from?

Pail comes from Middle English payle, from Old English pæġel, from Proto-Germanic pagilaz, from Proto-Indo-European bak-.

pail (English): A vessel of wood, tin, plastic, etc., usually...

Definitions

  1. A vessel of wood, tin, plastic, etc., usually...

Ancestry of “pail”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishpayleA pail or bucket; a roughly cylindrical...
2Old Frenchpaiellepan, cooking vessel, liquid measure
3Latinpatellaa small or shallow pan or dish; the kneecap,...
4Latinpatīna—
5Ancient Greekπατάνηkind of flat dish
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpet-ano—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpete-to spread, stretch out
8Proto-Finnicete-—
9Serbo-Croatiantẹ́—
10Proto-Slavictainflection of *tъ: ## feminine singular ##...

Words derived from “pail”

  • pailful
  • lunchpail
Every word from Proto-Slavic ta →