Where does “subtil” come from?
subtil (Old French) comes from Latin subtīlis, from Latin tēla, from Old Dutch tegela, from Proto-Germanic *tigulā, from Proto-Germanic tigulǭ, from Latin tēgula, from Latin tegō, from Proto-Italic tegō — to cover; pole, stick, beam.
Ancestry of “subtil”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | subtīlis | fine, thin, slender |
| 2 | Latin | tēla | web |
| 3 | Old Dutch | tegela | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *tigulā | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | tigulǭ | tile; brick |
| 6 | Latin | tēgula | a large, flat and heavy roof tile used in an overlapping formation with the curved and smaller imbrex |
| 7 | Latin | tegō | to cover; to clothe |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | tegō | cover |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)teg- | to cover; pole, stick, beam |