Etymology Explorer › Middle High German

Where does “vīle” come from?

vīle (Middle High German) comes from Old High German filu, from Proto-West Germanic *felu, from Proto-Germanic felu, from Proto-Germanic feluz, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- — to fill.

Ancestry of “vīle”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanfilumany; much
2Proto-West Germanic*felu—
3Proto-Germanicfelumuch, a lot; a lot of; very
4Proto-Germanicfeluzmany; cruel, evil
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpleh₁-to fill

Words derived from “vīle”

  • smalkvīle
  • vīle
  • rupjvīle
  • skrāpjvīle
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- →