Etymology

helve

H4E1L1V4E1

Today it means: The handle or haft of a tool or weapon. Full definition →

Middle English helfe ← Old English hielfe ← Proto-Germanic *halbiją
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*halbiją
  2. Old English · inherited fromhielfe
  3. Middle English · inherited fromhelfe
  4. English todayhelve

From Middle English helfe, helve; from Old English hielfe, from Proto-Germanic *halbiją. Probably cognate to English half, although Etymonline claims relation from halter and helm.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.