Etymograph

English

hield

Hield comes from Old English hieldan ‘to lean, incline, slope, force downwards, bow…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kel-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kel-1‘to tilt, tip, incline’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*halþijaną1‘to bend, incline, pour, empty’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*halþijan1‘to tilt, to incline’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hieldan1‘to lean, incline, slope, force downwards, bow or bend down’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heelden1
  6. Englishtodayhield1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English hield

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kel-Wiktionary, English hield‘to tilt, tip, incline’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*halþijanąWiktionary, English hield‘to bend, incline, pour, empty’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*halþijanWiktionary, English hield‘to tilt, to incline’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hieldanWiktionary, English hield‘to lean, incline, slope, force downwards, bow or bend down’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heeldenWiktionary, English hield
  6. EnglishtodayhieldWiktionary, English hield

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kel- ‘to tilt, tip, incline’

hold, halt, gallon, acceleration, accelerate, hilt, 4 more

through Proto-Germanic *halþijaną ‘to bend, incline, pour, empty’

hell

through Old English hieldan ‘to lean, incline, slope, force downwards, bow…’

heel

Another origin of hield

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kel-‘to tilt, tip, incline’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*halþijōnreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150hielde‘slope, declivity’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500held
  5. Englishtodayhield

Today it means

verb To bend; incline; tilt (as a water-vessel or ship); heel.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hield”. 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 *kel- / hield

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