*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of kile

From Middle English kile, kyle, kylle, from Old Norse kýli (“boil”), from Proto-Germanic *kūlǭ, *kūlijǭ (“boil”), from Proto-Indo-European *gewl- (“vessel, bowl, ball”), from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve, v

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

An ulcer; sore.

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

From Middle English kile, kyle, kylle, from Old Norse kýli (“boil”), from Proto-Germanic *kūlǭ, *kūlijǭ (“boil”), from Proto-Indo-European *gewl- (“vessel, bowl, ball”), from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve, vault”). Cognate with Icelandic kýli (“wen, boil”), Swedish kula (“boil, bulge; pit”), Danish kule (“boil, bump; pit”), German Keule (“club”), German Kuhle (“hollow”), Dutch kuil (“pit, hole”). See also keel.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Derivation mentionkileenm
  • Derivation mentionkýlinon
  • Derivation mention*kūlǭgem-pro
  • Derivation mention*gewl-ine-pro
  • Derivation mention*gew-ine-pro
  • Cognate mentionkýliis
  • Cognate mentionkulasv
  • Cognate mentionkuleda
  • Cognate mentionKeulede
  • Cognate mentionKuhlede
  • Cognate mentionkuilnl
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "kile"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English kile"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "kýli",
        "4": "",
        "5": "boil"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse kýli (“boil”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kūlǭ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kūlǭ"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gewl-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "vessel, bowl, ball"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gewl- (“vessel, bowl, ball”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gew-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to bend, curve, vault"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve, vault”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "kýli",
        "3": "",
        "4": "wen, boil"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic kýli (“wen, boil”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "kula",
        "3": "",
        "4": "boil, bulge; pit"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish kula (“boil, bulge; pit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "kule",
        "3": "",
        "4": "boil, bump; pit"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish kule (“boil, bump; pit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Keule",
        "3": "",
        "4": "club"
      },
      "expansion": "German Keule (“club”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Kuhle",
        "3": "",
        "4": "hollow"
      },
      "expansion": "German Kuhle (“hollow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kuil",
        "3": "",
        "4": "pit, hole"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kuil (“pit, hole”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "kile",
      "kile#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kyle",
      "kyle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kylle",
      "kylle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kýli",
      "kýli#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*kūlǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kūlǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*kūlijǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kūlijǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*gewl-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gewl-"
    ],
    [
      "*gew-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gew-"
    ],
    [
      "kýli",
      "kýli#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "kula",
      "kula#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "kule",
      "kule#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "Keule",
      "Keule#German"
    ],
    [
      "Kuhle",
      "Kuhle#German"
    ],
    [
      "kuil",
      "kuil#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "keel",
      "keel#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An ulcer; sore."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "18f36943eaa84fd331760e2e88732952a298e712e2a4bc7f581273577b63261f",
      "rawRecordSha256": "5e72d7180b083d81720626795a4c44c2bbf04ff7c5ca2dea75d31721ac5dc9ad",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 475598
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "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 kile →

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-a2lsZQ