Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “till” come from?

Till comes from Old English tyllan, which derived from Proto-Indo-European ád, ultimately from Latin lens.

till (English): Until; to, up to; as late as; To, up to; To make...

Definitions

  1. Until; to, up to; as late as; To, up to; To make...

Ancestry of “till”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishtilyenTo cultivate or ready soil for planting; to till;...
2Old Englishtilianto obtain; to strive; to provide for
3Proto-GermanictilōnąTo strive; reach; mint; aim; hurry

Words derived from “till”

  • tillage
  • tillable
  • tillite
  • untillable
  • overtillage
  • overtill
  • cotillage
  • 'til
  • til
Every word from Proto-Germanic tilōną →