kill
/kɪl/
verb
Origin
Old English
cwellan — to kill, murder, destroy
Overview
Meaning Now
- To deprive of life; to cause the death of a living thing.
- To put an end to or extinguish something, such as a process, feeling, or signal.
Language path
Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
killen
Earliest period
Middle English, 13th century
Journey
The word 'kill' has an uncertain origin. While it is historically linked to the Proto-Germanic *kwaljan (the source of 'quell'), the phonetic development is irregular. It likely emerged from a Middle English dialectal variation that replaced the earlier 'quell' in common parlance, perhaps through contact with Old Norse speakers.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*kwaljan
“to cause pain or death”
- Old English
cwellan
“to kill, destroy”
Direct ancestor of 'quell'.
- Middle English
killen
“to strike down, kill”
Emerges as a distinct variant possibly influenced by Old Norse 'kolla'.
Connections
Word parts
kill
root
to cause death
Related across languages
Old Norse
kolla
to hit, strike
Old Saxon
kwellian
to torture
Explore next
Related to kill
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.