ill English · revision 3779

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1150|origins=non illr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|ille|t=morally evil, malicious]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|non|illr|t=evil, bad; hard, difficult; mean]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) a word of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) It is not considered related to [[evil]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Morally evil, malicious: probably about 1150 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline, where other 13th-century senses were “malevolent, hurtful, unfortunate, difficult”.^(Etymonline) The adverb, harshly or wickedly, is from the late 12th century.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Incompetent, deficient” is from before 1325, in ''Cursor Mundi'',^(Barnhart 1988) and “marked by evil intentions, harmful” from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) The sense “sick, unwell” is from the mid-15th century, before 1460 in Barnhart,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) probably from a use like the Old Norse idiom “it is bad to me”;^(Etymonline) before then a person would be [[sick]], as Americans still are.^(Cresswell 2021) The adverb did not shift to physical sickness as the adjective did.^(Etymonline) ''It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good'', from the days of sailing ships, is from the mid-16th century.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Ill will'' is from before 1325, ''ill-gotten'' from before 1425, and ''ill-fated'' from 1710, in Pope.^(Barnhart 1988) The slang inverted sense “very good, cool” is from the 1980s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1150 – morally evil.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1250 – noun, evil people.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1325 – deficient, and ''ill will''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-14th century – harmful.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – sick.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-16th century – ''an ill wind''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1710 – ''ill-fated''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1980s – slang, very good.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not healthy; [[sick]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Causing harm or suffering; bad: ''ill effects''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Hostile or unfriendly: ''ill feeling''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Unfavourable; [[unlucky]]: ''an ill omen''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Not up to standard: ''ill manners''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Badly; not well.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Scarcely or with difficulty: ''we can ill afford it''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Evil; harm.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something that causes suffering; a misfortune: ''social ills''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[illness]]

+ * [[ill-being]]

+ * [[ill-looking]]

+ * [[ill-omened]]

+ * [[ill-starred]]

+ * [[ill-usage]]

+ * [[ill-use]]

+ * [[ill-wisher]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[evil]]

+ * [[sick]]

+ * [[illth]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Middle English set ill against well in words now obsolete, such as illfare (about 1300) and illcome (1570s), and in [[illth]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}