Where does “ill” come from?

ill (Westrobothnian) comes from Old Norse illr, from Proto-Germanic ilhilaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₁elḱ-.

ill (Westrobothnian): evil, bad

Definitions

  1. evil, bad

Ancestry of “ill”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norseillrevil, bad; hard, difficult; close, mean, stingy
2Proto-Germanicilhilazbad, evil
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁elḱ-—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁elḱ- →