ill

English

/ɪl/

adj
Definitions
  • (obsolete) Evil; wicked (of people).
  • (archaic) Morally reprehensible (of behaviour etc.); blameworthy.
  • Indicative of unkind or malevolent intentions; harsh, cruel.
  • Unpropitious, unkind, faulty, not up to reasonable standard.
  • Unwell in terms of health or physical condition; sick.
  • Having an urge to vomit.
  • (hip-hop slang) Sublime, with the connotation of being so in a singularly creative way.
  • (slang) Extremely bad (bad enough to make one ill). Generally used indirectly with to be.
  • (dated) Unwise; not a good idea.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English ille (evil, wicked) derived from Old Norse illr (bad, sick, evil) derived from Proto-Germanic *ilhilaz (evil, bad) derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elk-.

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*h₁elk-

Gloss

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms