Meaning
Intending to harm; malevolent.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
From Middle English yvel, evel, ivel, uvel, from Old English yfel, from Proto-West Germanic *ubil, from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂up(h₁)élos, a deverbal derivative of *h₂wep(h₁)-, *h₂wop(h₁)- (“treat badly”). See -le for the supposed suffix. Alternatively from *upélos (“evil”, literally “going over or beyond (acceptable limits)”), from Proto-Indo-European *upo, *h₃ewp- (“down, up, over”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch euvel (“evil”), German übel (“bad, evil”), German Low German övel (“evil”), Luxembourgish iwwel (“queasy, nauseous; bad”), Gothic 𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌻𐍃 (ubils, “bad, evil”). Compare Old Irish fel (“bad, evil”), from Proto-Celtic *uɸelos, and Hittite 𒄷𒉿𒀊𒍣 (huwapp-ⁱ, “to mistreat, harass”), 𒄷𒉿𒀊𒉺𒀸 (huwappa-, “evil, badness”).
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 17 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-06-28VDEGILN
- 2026-06-13IAEKLTV
- 2026-03-21EILNPUV
- 2026-02-04VDNIELY
- 2025-12-19VTAPIEL
- 2025-07-03LEUMITV
- 2025-03-06VALECIT
- 2024-10-01ICTLEOV
- 2024-09-06VDLFEIO
- 2024-02-14VENIGLO
- 2023-11-03LEIJNUV
- 2023-09-02VEUNLGI
+5 earlier appearances in the archive.