*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Coll

Uncertain. The island name, from Latin Colosus (704 AD), is often associated with an Old Irish *koll or Proto-Brythonic *koll, themselves both from Proto-Celtic *koslos (“hazel”). Derivation from Ancient Greek κολοσσός (

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

An island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute council area, Scotland, United Kingdom.

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

Uncertain. The island name, from Latin Colosus (704 AD), is often associated with an Old Irish *koll or Proto-Brythonic *koll, themselves both from Proto-Celtic *koslos (“hazel”). Derivation from Ancient Greek κολοσσός (kolossós, “giant figure”) has been called "naïve" by Coates (2006).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Colosus"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Colosus"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sga",
        "3": "*koll"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Irish *koll"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cel-bry-pro",
        "3": "*koll"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Brythonic *koll"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cel-pro",
        "3": "*koslos",
        "4": "",
        "5": "hazel"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Celtic *koslos (“hazel”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "κολοσσός",
        "t": "giant figure"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek κολοσσός (kolossós, “giant figure”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Colosus",
      "Colosus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*koll",
      "Reconstruction:Old Irish/koll"
    ],
    [
      "*koll",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Brythonic/koll"
    ],
    [
      "*koslos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/koslos"
    ],
    [
      "κολοσσός",
      "κολοσσός#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "glosses": [
        "An island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute council area, Scotland, United Kingdom."
      ],
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A diminutive of the male given name Nicholas, of rare usage. A medieval English short form of the male given name Nicholas; very rare today. · A surname originating as a patronymic.

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

Clipping of Nicholas

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping of",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Nicholas"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of Nicholas"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Nicholas",
      "Nicholas#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A diminutive of the male given name Nicholas, of rare usage. A medieval English short form of the male given name Nicholas; very rare today.",
        "A surname originating as a patronymic."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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}

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 Coll →

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-Q29sbA