Etymology

seel

S1E1E1L1

Today it means: Good; fortunate; opportune; happy. Full definition →

Middle English sel ← Old English *sǣle ← Proto-Germanic *sēliz
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seel · adjective1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sel-
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sēliz“good, happy”
  3. Old English · inherited from*sǣle“good, fortunate, happy”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromsel
  5. English todayseel

From Middle English sel, sele, from Old English *sǣle (“good, fortunate, happy”) (attested in Old English unsǣle (“evil, wicked”)), from Proto-Germanic *sēliz (“good, happy”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *sēl- (“to calm, quiet, be favourable”). Cognate with Danish sæl (“blissful”), Dutch zalig (“blissful”), Gothic 𐍃𐌴𐌻𐍃 (sēls, “good, kind, useful”), Icelandic sæll (“blissful”), Latin sōlor (“to comfort, console”), Swedish säll (“blissful”).

seel · noun2

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sel-
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sēliz“luck, joy”
  3. Old English · inherited fromsǣl“time, occasion, a fit time, season, opportunity, the definite time at which an event should take place, time as in bad or good times, circumstances, condition, position, happiness, joy, good fortune, good time, prosperity”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromsele
  5. English todayseel

From Middle English sele, sel, from Old English sǣl (“time, occasion, a fit time, season, opportunity, the definite time at which an event should take place, time as in bad or good times, circumstances, condition, position, happiness, joy, good fortune, good time, prosperity”), from Proto-Germanic *sēliz (“luck, joy”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *sēl- (“to calm, quiet, be favourable”). Cognate with Icelandic sæla (“bliss”), Dutch zalig (“blissful, blessed”). More at silly.

seel · verb3

  1. Latin · derived fromcilium“eyelid, eyelash”
  2. Old French · derived fromsiller
  3. Middle English · inherited fromsilen
  4. English todayseel

From Middle English silen, from Old French siller, ciller (“to sew up the eyelids of, hoodwink, wink”), from cil (“eyelid”), from Latin cilium (“eyelid, eyelash”).

seel · verb, noun4

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*sīgan“to drop”
  2. English todayseel

Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *sīgan (“to drop”). Compare Low German sielen (“to lead off water”), French siller (“to run ahead, to make headway”), and English sile (transitive verb).

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishsel all →

sealsele

Proto-Germanic*sēliz all →

sele

Proto-Indo-European*sel- all →

saleslipsalonsalooninsultsylvansillslinkforslinggezellig

Old Englishsǣl all →

Selkirksele

Middle Englishsilen all →

siltsile

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.