*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ail

Inherited from Middle English eilen, from Old English eġlan, eġlian (“to trouble, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *aglijan, from Proto-Germanic *aglijaną (“to trouble, vex”), cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (agljan,

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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 ↗
verb

To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.) · To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.

noun

An ailment; trouble; illness.

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

Inherited from Middle English eilen, from Old English eġlan, eġlian (“to trouble, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *aglijan, from Proto-Germanic *aglijaną (“to trouble, vex”), cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (agljan, “to distress”).

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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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "eilen",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English eilen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "eilen"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle English eilen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "eġlan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English eġlan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*aglijan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *aglijan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*aglijaną",
        "t": "to trouble, vex"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *aglijaną (“to trouble, vex”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to distress"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (agljan, “to distress”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "eilen",
      "eilen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "eġlan",
      "eglan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "eġlian",
      "eglian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*aglijan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/aglijan"
    ],
    [
      "*aglijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/aglijaną"
    ],
    [
      "𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽",
      "𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽#Gothic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)",
        "To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "intransitive"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An ailment; trouble; illness."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adj

Painful; troublesome.

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

Inherited from Middle English eyle, eile, from Old English eġle (“hideous, loathsome, hateful, horrid, troublesome, grievous, painful”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aglus, “hard, difficult”).

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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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "eyle",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
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      },
      "expansion": "Middle English eyle"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "eyle"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle English eyle"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "eġle",
        "4": "",
        "5": "hideous, loathsome, hateful, horrid, troublesome, grievous, painful"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English eġle (“hideous, loathsome, hateful, horrid, troublesome, grievous, painful”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃",
        "3": "",
        "4": "hard, difficult"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aglus, “hard, difficult”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "eyle",
      "eyle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "eile",
      "eile#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "eġle",
      "egle#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃",
      "𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃#Gothic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Painful; troublesome."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

The awn of barley or other types of corn.

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

Inherited from Middle English eile, eyle, eiȝle, from Old English eġl (“an ail; awn; beard of barley; mote”), from Proto-Germanic *agilō (“awn”), related to *ahaz (“ear (of grain)”). Cognate with German Achel, Egel, Ägel.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentioneileenm
  • Inherited-form mentioneġlang
  • Inherited-form mention*agilōgem-pro
  • Cognate mentionAchelde
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "awn"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
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        "3": "eile",
        "4": "",
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        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
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      },
      "expansion": "Middle English eile"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "eile"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle English eile"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "eġl",
        "4": "",
        "5": "an ail; awn; beard of barley; mote"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English eġl (“an ail; awn; beard of barley; mote”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*agilō",
        "4": "",
        "5": "awn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *agilō (“awn”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Achel"
      },
      "expansion": "German Achel"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "eile",
      "eile#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "eyle",
      "eyle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "eiȝle",
      "eiȝle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "eġl",
      "egl#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*agilō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/agilō"
    ],
    [
      "*ahaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ahaz"
    ],
    [
      "Achel",
      "Achel#German"
    ],
    [
      "Egel",
      "Egel#German"
    ],
    [
      "Ägel",
      "Ägel#German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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        "The awn of barley or other types of corn."
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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 ail →

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-YWls