Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “fūl” come from?

fūl (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic fūl, from Proto-Germanic fūlaz, from Proto-Indo-European pū- — rotten, putrid; be rotten; putrid; to rot, swell,...

fūl (Old English): foul, unclean, impure, vile, corrupt, rotten,...

Definitions

  1. foul, unclean, impure, vile, corrupt, rotten,...

Ancestry of “fūl”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicfūlfoul, dirty
2Proto-Germanicfūlazfoul, dirty; rotten
3Proto-Indo-Europeanpū-rotten, putrid; be rotten; putrid; to rot, swell,...

Words derived from “fūl”

  • foul
  • fowl
  • fullness
  • fouling
  • afoul
  • fowling
  • foully
  • wildfowl
  • fouler
  • biofouling
  • antifouling
  • peafowl
  • foulmouthed
  • befoul
  • fowlpox
  • moorfowl
  • foulbrood
  • wildfowler
  • junglefowl
  • fowlhouse
  • macrofouling
  • nonfouling
  • spurfowl
  • rockfowl
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pū- →