vail

vail · noun¹

1. Latin · derived fromvaleō“to be worth”
2. Old French · derived fromvail
3. Middle English · inherited fromvayle
4. English todayvail

From Middle English vayle, from Old French vail, from valoir (“to be worth”), from Latin valeō (“to be worth”).

vail · noun, verb²

1. Anglo-Norman · derived fromvaler
2. Middle English · inherited fromvalen
3. English todayvail

From Middle English valen; either from Anglo-Norman valer or a clipping of avalen. Compare avale.

Vail · proper noun³

The town in Colorado was named after Vail Pass, which in turn was named after highway engineer Charles Vail. The surname likely comes from the obsolete term vail, meaning "submission", of Anglo-Norman origin.

Words from the same roots