anneal

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂eydʰ-“to burn”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*ailijaną“to burn”
3. Proto-Germanic · derived from*ana“on”
4. Old English · inherited fromonǣlan“to burn, ignite, set fire to, consume, heat, enlighten, incite, inflame, inspire, kindle”
5. Middle English · inherited fromanelen
6. English todayanneal

From Middle English anelen, onelen, from Old English onǣlan (“to burn, ignite, set fire to, consume, heat, enlighten, incite, inflame, inspire, kindle”), from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on”) + Proto-Germanic *ailijaną (“to burn”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- (“to burn”). The double-N spelling may have arisen by analogy with Latinate verbs like announce, annex, and annul. The word is related to Old English onāl (“that which is burnt, burning; incense”), Old English āl (“fire, burning”), Icelandic eldur (“fire”), Swedish eld (“fire, flame”), Danish ild (“fire”).

Words from the same roots