English
tile
Tile comes from Old English tiġele ‘tile, brick’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- ‘to cover’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-1‘to cover’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēgula1‘a large, flat and heavy roof tile used in an overlapping formation with the curved and…’
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tigulǭ1‘tile, brick’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tigulā1‘tile, brick’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tiġele1‘tile, brick’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tile1
- Englishearliest quotation 1865tile1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English tile
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1865, Charles Dickens: “Tile - Tile, a Hat.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-Wiktionary, English tile‘to cover’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēgulaWiktionary, English tile‘a large, flat and heavy roof tile used in an overlapping formation with the curved and…’
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tigulǭWiktionary, English tile‘tile, brick’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tigulāWiktionary, English tile‘tile, brick’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tiġeleWiktionary, English tile‘tile, brick’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tileWiktionary, English tile
- Englishearliest quotation 1865tileWiktionary, English tile. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1865, Charles Dickens: “Tile - Tile, a Hat.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- ‘to cover’
Today it means
noun A regularly-shaped slab of clay or other material, affixed to cover or decorate a surface, as in a roof-tile, glazed tile, stove tile, carpet tile, etc.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “tile”. 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 *(s)teg- / tile