English
soleil
Soleil comes from French soleil ‘sun (star)’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóh₂wl̥1‘sun’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōl1‘sun’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*sōliculus1reconstructeddiminutive of sōl
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400soleil1‘sun (star)’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600soleil1‘sun (star)’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsoleil2‘sun (star)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1967soleil2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, French soleil
- 2 Wiktionary, English soleil
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1967, Kenneth Horne, Bona Bijou Tourettes (Round the Horne): “Divine. ... Disporting yourself on the sable plage getting…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóh₂wl̥Wiktionary, French soleil‘sun’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōlWiktionary, French soleil‘sun’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*sōliculusWiktionary, French soleilreconstructeddiminutive of sōl
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400soleilWiktionary, French soleil‘sun (star)’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600soleilWiktionary, French soleil‘sun (star)’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsoleilWiktionary, English soleil‘sun (star)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1967soleilWiktionary, English soleil. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1967, Kenneth Horne, Bona Bijou Tourettes (Round the Horne): “Divine. ... Disporting yourself on the sable plage getting…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ‘sun’
sun, southern, helium, parasol, 5 more
through Latin sōl ‘sun’
Today it means
noun sun
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “soleil”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French soleil. 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 *sóh₂wl̥ / soleil