Wordwyrt

kill

/ˈkɪl/KIL
/ˈkɪl/KIL

Meaningto hit

Common meaning: to put to death

Journey through time

  1. Old Norse (Icelandic)kolla‘to hit on the head’source
  2. Middle Englishmeaning shiftsto hit on the head → to strikekillen‘to strike’source
  3. Englishmeaning shiftsto strike → to put to deathkill‘to put to death’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old Norse (Icelandic) kolla ‘to hit’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry KILL, p. 314 · dictionary scan

Roots

  • kolla Old Norse (Icelandic) “to hit”

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