Etymograph

English

childe

Childe comes from Old English ċild ‘child’, from Proto-Germanic *kelþaz ‘womb’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to ball up, amass’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-1‘to ball up, amass’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gelt-1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kelþaz2‘womb’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kilþ2reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċild3‘child’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1524childe3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *kelþaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English cild
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English childe
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1524, will of William Butler of Brotton Juxta , The Publications of the Surtees Society: “I will that non childe of myne have any…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *kelþaz‘to ball up, amass’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gelt-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *kelþazreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kelþazWiktionary, Old English cild‘womb’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kilþWiktionary, Old English cildreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċildWiktionary, English childe‘child’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1524childeWiktionary, English childe. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1524, will of William Butler of Brotton Juxta , The Publications of the Surtees Society: “I will that non childe of myne have any…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to ball up, amass’

clean, cold, cloud, globe, cluster, gel, jelly, chill, clout, clot, gelatin, clough, gelato, glebe, ganglion, clod, globus, klutz, globulin, 47 more

through Proto-Indo-European *gelt-

colt, 8 more

through Old English ċild ‘child’

stepchildren, stepchild, 8 more

Today it means

noun A child of noble birth.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “childe”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *kelþaz, Old English cild. 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 *gel- / childe

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