*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -eil

Variant of French -eille, from Middle French -eille, from Old French -eille, -eil, -ele, -eyle, from Latin -icula, from rebracketing of -i- + -culus.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Diminutive suffix in words of French origin.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Variant of French -eille, from Middle French -eille, from Old French -eille, -eil, -ele, -eyle, from Latin -icula, from rebracketing of -i- + -culus.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mention-eillefr
  • Derivation mention-eillefrm
  • Derivation mention-eillefro
  • Derivation mention-culala
  • Word-formation component-i-la
  • Word-formation component-culusla
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "-eille"
      },
      "expansion": "French -eille"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "-eille"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French -eille"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-eille"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French -eille"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-cula",
        "alt": "-icula"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin -icula"
    },
    {
      "name": "af",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "-i-",
        "3": "-culus"
      },
      "expansion": "-i- + -culus"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-eille",
      "-eille#French"
    ],
    [
      "-eille",
      "-eille#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "-eille",
      "-eille#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-eil",
      "-eil#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-ele",
      "-ele#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-eyle",
      "-eyle#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-icula",
      "-cula#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-i-",
      "-i-#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-culus",
      "-culus#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Diminutive suffix in words of French origin."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "0e2d97691d83379fa7a60b9f637a5629c0c35213109d3feeaf4ed84e8b4076bb",
      "rawRecordSha256": "3129e55ce29d675707c4cded4edb7e4e58e37772dd8e6b141b968429c7ef4b8c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 848026
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -eil →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LWVpbA