Etymograph

English

hele

Hele comes from Middle English helen ‘to cover’, from Proto-West Germanic *helan ‘to hide, conceal’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱel-1‘to hide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*helaną1‘to conceal, stash, receive stolen goods’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*helan1‘to hide, conceal’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150helan1‘to conceal, cover, hide’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500helen1‘to cover’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1861hele1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English hele
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1861, The Journal of the Royal Agricultural So: “At the time of earthing the potatoes by the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱel-Wiktionary, English hele‘to hide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*helanąWiktionary, English hele‘to conceal, stash, receive stolen goods’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*helanWiktionary, English hele‘to hide, conceal’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150helanWiktionary, English hele‘to conceal, cover, hide’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500helenWiktionary, English hele‘to cover’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1861heleWiktionary, English hele. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1861, The Journal of the Royal Agricultural So: “At the time of earthing the potatoes by the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‘to hide’

color, hall, cell, hell, holder, ceiling, hull, hollow, halt, holden, conceal, uphold, helmet, occult, clandestine, sari, helm, sala, cilia, recline, declination, tricolour, haugh, declension, halberd, seel, 37 more

through Proto-Germanic *helaną ‘to conceal, stash, receive stolen goods’

hole, holing

through Middle English helen ‘to cover’

heal, 1 more

Today it means

verb To hide, conceal, and keep secret, especially for a secret society (such as the masons).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hele”. 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 *ḱel- / hele

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