Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “weevil” come from?

Weevil comes from Middle English wevel, from Old English wifel, from Proto-Germanic wibilaz, from Proto-Indo-European webʰel-, ultimately from the root webʰ-.

weevil (English): Any of several small herbivorous beetles in the...

Definitions

  1. Any of several small herbivorous beetles in the...

Ancestry of “weevil”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwevelweevil
2Old EnglishwifelBeetle
3Proto-West Germanic*wibil—
4Proto-Germanicwibilaz{{l|en|weevil}}; weevil
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwebʰel-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwebʰ-to weave, braid

Words derived from “weevil”

  • weevilly
  • weevily
  • weeviled
Every word from Proto-Indo-European webʰ- →