Where does “silen” come from?
silen (Middle English) comes from Old French siller, from Latin cilium, from Proto-Italic *keljom, from Proto-Indo-European ḱel-yo-m, from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- — to cover; to incline.
Ancestry of “silen”, step by step
silen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French siller
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | siller | — |
| 2 | Latin | cilium | eyelid; eyelash |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | *keljom | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱel-yo-m | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱel- | to cover; to incline |
via Middle Low German silen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle Low German | silen | — |