*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bile

From Middle French bile, from Latin bīlis (“bile”). Partially displaced native English gall (“bile”), from Middle English galle, from Old English galla, ġealla (“gall, bile”).

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 ↗
noun

A bitter brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow secretion produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion. · Bitterness of temper; ill humour; irascibility. · Either of two of the four humours, black bile or yellow bile, in ancient and medieval physiology.

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

From Middle French bile, from Latin bīlis (“bile”). Partially displaced native English gall (“bile”), from Middle English galle, from Old English galla, ġealla (“gall, bile”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Borrowed-form mentionbilefrm
  • Derivation mentionbīlisla · bile
  • Non-cognate comparisongallen · bile
  • Non-cognate comparisongalleenm
  • Non-cognate comparisonġeallaang
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "bile"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French bile"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "bīlis",
        "t": "bile"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin bīlis (“bile”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gall",
        "t": "bile"
      },
      "expansion": "English gall (“bile”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "galle"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English galle"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ġealla",
        "3": "galla"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English galla"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bile",
      "bile#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "bīlis",
      "bilis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "gall",
      "gall#English"
    ],
    [
      "galle",
      "galle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "galla",
      "gealla#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġealla",
      "gealla#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A bitter brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow secretion produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion.",
        "Bitterness of temper; ill humour; irascibility.",
        "Either of two of the four humours, black bile or yellow bile, in ancient and medieval physiology."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A boil (kind of swelling).

verb

Pronunciation spelling of boil.

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

Obsolete form of boil. Akin to Dutch buil and German Beule, all from Proto-Germanic *būlǭ.

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.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "buil"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch buil"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Beule"
      },
      "expansion": "German Beule"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*būlǭ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *būlǭ"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "boil",
      "boil#English"
    ],
    [
      "buil",
      "buil#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Beule",
      "Beule#German"
    ],
    [
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/būlǭ"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A boil (kind of swelling)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 284723
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "Pronunciation spelling of boil."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "pronunciation-spelling"
      ],
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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 bile →

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-YmlsZQ