Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “utensyl” come from?

utensyl (Middle English) comes from Old French utensile, from Latin utensilis, from Latin ūtor, from Proto-Slavic *ǫtorъ, from Proto-Slavic torъ, from Proto-Slavic terti, from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- — to rub, turn; to drill, pierce.

Ancestry of “utensyl”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchutensile—
2Latinutensilisuseful
3Latinūtor—
4Proto-Slavic*ǫtorъ—
5Proto-Slavictorъ—
6Proto-Slavictertito rub, to scrape; to polish
7Proto-Indo-Europeanterh₁-to rub, turn; to drill, pierce
Every word from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- →