Etymology

dill

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Today it means: Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed. Full definition →

Middle English dile ← Old English dile ← Proto-Germanic *deliz
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dill · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*deliz
  2. Old English · inherited fromdile“dill, anise”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromdile
  4. English todaydill

From Middle English dile, from Old English dile (“dill, anise”); from Proto-Germanic *deliz, of uncertain, probably non-Indo-European origin, possibly a west European substrate. Cognate with Old Saxon dilli, Dutch dille, Swedish dill, German Dill.

dill · verb2

Variant of dull

dill · noun3

Perhaps a backformation from dilly (“silly”).

Dill · proper noun4

* As a German surname, from Diele (“floorboard”). * As an English surname, from the noun dill and also the adjective dull. * As a Scottish/Scottish Gaelic surname, reduced from McDill, itself a variant of McDowell.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishdile all →

Dilworth

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.