Standard Lemma guide

athel

adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈæθəl/
  • /ˈeɪθəl/

1

adj

Meaning 1

noble, highborn

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

excellent, splendid, fine

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

genuine, sincere, devout

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A chief or lord.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A kind of tamarisk native to northern Africa and the Middle East, Tamarix aphylla, planted widely elsewhere as a shade tree and a windbreak due to its tolerance of heat and of alkaline soils, but tending to become invasive outside of its native range.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English athel, ethel, hathel (“noble; nobleman, hero”), from Old English æþele (“noble”), from Proto-West Germanic *aþulī, from Proto-Germanic *aþulijaz (“of noble birth, noble”), from *aþalą (“nature; nobility”). Cognates Akin to Saterland Frisian eedel (“noble”), Oadel (“nobility”), West Frisian eal (“noble”), Dutch adel (“nobility”), edel (“noble”), German Adel (“nobility”), edel (“noble”), Yiddish אַדל (adl, “nobility”), איידל (eydl, “noble”), Elfdalian aðel (“noble; nobility”), Faroese aðal (“noble; nobility”), Icelandic aðal (“speciality, hallmark, characteristic”), aðall (“nobility”). Middle English form hathel due to conflation with Old English hæleþ (“hero”). See heleth.

From Arabic أَثَل (ʔaṯal).