Etymology

heelies

H4E1E1L1I1E1S1

Today it means: Trainers with one or more wheels fitted to the heel, allowing the wearer to walk normally then skate by shifting the weight to the rear. Full definition →

English wheelie ← Middle English whel ← Old English hwēol
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The story

  1. Middle Englishhele
  2. Englishheel
  3. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
  4. Proto-Indo-European*kʷekʷléh₂
  5. Proto-Germanic*hweulō
  6. Old Englishhwēol
  7. Middle Englishwhel
  8. Englishwheel
  9. Englishwheelie
  10. English todayheelies

Blend of heel + wheelie. Heelys, the original, are a branded version.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.