*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of anil

Etymology tree Middle French anilder. Proto-Indo-European *neyH-der.? Sanskrit नील॑ (nī́la)der. Middle Persian 𐭭𐭩𐭫 (nīl)bor. Arabic نِيل (nīl)der. Andalusian Arabicbor. Portuguese anilder. English anil From Middle Fre

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 ↗
noun

The indigo shrub; or the indigo dye obtained from the plant. · Any imine in which the N-radical is a phenyl (or substituted phenyl) group. · 1,4-Benzoquinones including chloranil, DDQ, bromanil, & cyanil.

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

Etymology tree Middle French anilder. Proto-Indo-European *neyH-der.? Sanskrit नील॑ (nī́la)der. Middle Persian 𐭭𐭩𐭫 (nīl)bor. Arabic نِيل (nīl)der. Andalusian Arabicbor. Portuguese anilder. English anil From Middle French anil, Portuguese anil.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Derivation mentionanilfrm
  • Derivation mentionanilpt
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "frm:anil",
        "4": "pt:anil",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nMiddle French anilder.\nProto-Indo-European *neyH-der.?\nSanskrit नील॑ (nī́la)der.\nMiddle Persian 𐭭𐭩𐭫 (nīl)bor.\nArabic نِيل (nīl)der.\nAndalusian Arabicbor.\nPortuguese anilder.\nEnglish anil\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle French\", \"term\" : \"anil\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"frm\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"lang_name\" : \"Andalusian Arabic\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"transliteration\" : \"nīl\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"shine\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*neyH-\", \"gloss\" : \"to be excited, shine\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Sanskrit\", \"term\" : \"नील॑\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"sa\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle Persian\", \"term\" : \"𐭭𐭩𐭫\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"pal\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Arabic\", \"term\" : \"نِيل\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ar\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang\" : \"xaa\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Portuguese\", \"term\" : \"anil\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"pt\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"anil\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"anil\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "anil"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French anil"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pt",
        "3": "anil"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese anil"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "frm:anil",
        "4": "pt:anil",
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      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nMiddle French anilder.\nProto-Indo-European *neyH-der.?\nSanskrit नील॑ (nī́la)der.\nMiddle Persian 𐭭𐭩𐭫 (nīl)bor.\nArabic نِيل (nīl)der.\nAndalusian Arabicbor.\nPortuguese anilder.\nEnglish anil"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "anil",
      "anil#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "*neyH-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/neyH-#Proto-Indo-European:_shine"
    ],
    [
      "नील॑",
      "नील#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "𐭭𐭩𐭫",
      "𐭭𐭩𐭫#Middle_Persian"
    ],
    [
      "نِيل",
      "نيل#Arabic"
    ],
    [
      "anil",
      "anil#Portuguese"
    ],
    [
      "anil",
      "anil#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "anil",
      "anil#Portuguese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Irish",
      "lang_code": "ga",
      "word": "anail",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The indigo shrub; or the indigo dye obtained from the plant.",
        "Any imine in which the N-radical is a phenyl (or substituted phenyl) group.",
        "1,4-Benzoquinones including chloranil, DDQ, bromanil, & cyanil."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "33876604a81514db8cf3ed728d5b9b94f42f91298554d51428fa489112dd2992",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 495514
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "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 anil →

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-YW5pbA