Etymograph

English

aillt

Aillt comes from Welsh allt ‘hillside, slope’, from Proto-Celtic *altos ‘height, cliff’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-1‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eltós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*altos2‘height, cliff’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Brythonicc. 100 BCE–500 CE*alt2reconstructed
  5. Middle Welshc. 1150–1500allt2
  6. Welshc. 1500–presentallt3as aillt‘hillside, slope’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1924aillt3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Celtic *altos
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Welsh allt
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English aillt
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1924, Bromfield and Yale, Wales (Lordship): “[…] but the laws and the Extents make us…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-Wiktionary, Proto-Celtic *altos‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eltósWiktionary, Proto-Celtic *altosreconstructed
  3. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*altosWiktionary, Welsh allt‘height, cliff’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Brythonicc. 100 BCE–500 CE*altWiktionary, Welsh alltreconstructed
  5. Middle Welshc. 1150–1500alltWiktionary, Welsh allt
  6. Welshc. 1500–presentalltWiktionary, English ailltas aillt‘hillside, slope’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1924ailltWiktionary, English aillt. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1924, Bromfield and Yale, Wales (Lordship): “[…] but the laws and the Extents make us…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’

as, all, else, el, adult, element, ultimate, alien, ultra, alternate, alumni, qualification, outrage, ou, alter, ellen, alpine, adolescent, abolish, alias, alum, alibi, retaliate, alimony, alp, proletariat, altruism, ulterior, parallax, coalesce, foetal, aad, althea, withal, 62 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós

old, elder, altitude, altar, alt, alto, auld, eld, exalt, altimeter, 13 more

Today it means

noun A member of a semi-servile class among the Cymry.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “aillt”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Celtic *altos, Welsh allt. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- / aillt

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