Etymology

spile

S1P3I1L1E1

Today it means: A splinter. Full definition →

Middle Low German spile ← Proto-Germanic *spīlaz ← Proto-Indo-European *spey-
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

spile · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*spey-“prickle, pointed stick”
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*spīlaz“splinter, peg”
  3. Middle Low German · derived fromspile“splinter, peg”
  4. English todayspile

From Middle Dutch or Middle Low German spile (“splinter, peg”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *spīlaz (“splinter, peg”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“prickle, pointed stick”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian spyl, German Speil (“chip, splinter, gore, wedge”), Danish spile, Dutch spijl.

spile · noun, verb2

Alteration of pile, after Etymology 1, above.

spile · verb3

Alteration of spoil.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*spey- all →

spikespitchcock

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.