Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “hleo” come from?

hleo (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic *hlaiw, from Proto-Germanic hlaiwaz, from Proto-Indo-European ḱley-, from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- — to cover; to incline.

Ancestry of “hleo”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanic*hlaiw—
2Proto-Germanichlaiwazshelter
3Proto-Indo-Europeanḱley-to shelter, cover; to lean, slope, incline
4Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline

Words derived from “hleo”

  • lee
  • leeward
  • leeway
  • alee
  • leeside
  • leeboard
  • looard
  • leewards
  • leewardness
  • lee
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- →