Etymograph

English

eckle

Eckle comes from English ickle ‘icicle’, from Proto-Germanic *jekulaz ‘piece of ice’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- ‘icefloe, icicle’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁eyH-1‘icefloe, icicle’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*jekulaz1‘piece of ice’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*jikil1‘piece of ice, icicle’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150ġicel1‘ice, icicle’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ikil1‘icicle’
  6. English1500–presentickle1‘icicle’
  7. Englishtodayeckle1variation of ickle

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English eckle

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁eyH-Wiktionary, English eckle‘icefloe, icicle’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*jekulazWiktionary, English eckle‘piece of ice’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*jikilWiktionary, English eckle‘piece of ice, icicle’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150ġicelWiktionary, English eckle‘ice, icicle’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ikilWiktionary, English eckle‘icicle’
  6. English1500–presentickleWiktionary, English eckle‘icicle’
  7. EnglishtodayeckleWiktionary, English ecklevariation of ickle

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- ‘icefloe, icicle’

ice, yew

Today it means

noun An icicle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “eckle”. 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 *h₁eyH- / eckle

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