Etymology

cail

C3A1I1L1

Today it means: To throw, pelt; to throw weakly. Full definition →

Middle English kayl
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The story

  1. Middle English · derived fromkayl“a blow, stroke”
  2. English todaycail

Unknown. Perhaps from or related to Middle English kayl (“a blow, stroke”). Compare Middle English quale (“death, destruction”), from Old English cwalu (“a quelling with weapons, torment, a violent death, slaughter, destruction”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.