English word origin

Etymology of feel

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *fōlijan Old English fēlan Middle English felen English feel From Middle English felen, from Old English fēlan, from Proto-West Germanic *fōlijan. Cognate with Dutch voelen and German f

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 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗

noun

The sense of touch. · A perception experienced mainly or solely through the sense of touch. · A vague mental impression. · An act of fondling.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionfelenenm
Inherited-form mentionfēlanang
Inherited-form mention*fōlijangmw-pro
Cognate mentionvoelennl
Cognate mentionfühlende

This page abbreviates 3 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "tree": "1"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "2": "voelen"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch voelen"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
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      },
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    },
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      "felen#Middle_English"
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      "felen",
      "felen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "felan#Old_English"
    ],
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    ],
    [
      "voelen",
      "voelen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "fühlen",
      "fühlen#German"
    ]
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      "lang_code": "ko",
      "word": "삘",
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Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗

verb

To become aware of through the skin; to use the sense of touch on. · To find one's way (literally or figuratively) by touching or using cautious movements. · To receive information by touch or by any neurons other than those responsible for sight, smell, taste, or hearing. · To search by sense of touch.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionfelenenm
Inherited-form mentionfēlanang
Inherited-form mention*fōlijangmw-pro
Cognate mentionvoelennl
Cognate mentionfühlende

This page abbreviates 8 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      },
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    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Dutch voelen"
    },
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      },
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      "voelen",
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      "fühlen#German"
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      "lang_code": "csb",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

adj

Alternative form of fele.

adv

Alternative form of fele.

pron

Alternative form of fele.

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

See fele.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 feel →

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-ZmVlbA