Etymograph

English

heil

Heil comes from German Heil ‘health, salvation, well-being, happiness, a…’, from Old High German heil ‘whole’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kéh₂ilos1‘whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hailaz1‘whole, unbroken, intact’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hail1‘whole’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050heil1‘whole’
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350heil1
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentHeil1‘health, salvation, well-being, happiness, a state of intactness and prosperity’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1937heil1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English heil
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1937, Pathfinder, Farm Journal: “Nazi “heils,” Nazi songs and Nazi swastikas are distasteful…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kéh₂ilosWiktionary, English heil‘whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hailazWiktionary, English heil‘whole, unbroken, intact’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hailWiktionary, English heil‘whole’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050heilWiktionary, English heil‘whole’
  5. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350heilWiktionary, English heil
  6. Germanc. 1650–presentHeilWiktionary, English heil‘health, salvation, well-being, happiness, a state of intactness and prosperity’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1937heilWiktionary, English heil. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1937, Pathfinder, Farm Journal: “Nazi “heils,” Nazi songs and Nazi swastikas are distasteful…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos ‘whole’

heal, hallowed, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *hailaz ‘whole, unbroken, intact’

health, holy, healing, hail, wholesome, hallow, 3 more

through Proto-West Germanic *hail ‘whole’

whole, hale

Today it means

verb To greet with a Sieg Heil.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “heil”. 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 *kéh₂ilos / heil

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