Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “sylian” come from?

sylian (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic suliwōną, from Proto-Indo-European sūl- — thick liquid, muck.

sylian (Old English): to soil, pollute; to sully; to soil, make dirty;...

Definitions

  1. to soil, pollute; to sully; to soil, make dirty;...

Ancestry of “sylian”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicsuliwōną—
2Proto-Indo-Europeansūl-thick liquid, muck

Words derived from “sylian”

  • sully
  • unsulliable
  • sulliable
  • sullow
  • unsully
  • solwen
  • solewen
  • sulen
  • sulien
  • sulwen
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sūl- →