Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Kill in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels kill as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Kill

[OE. killen, kellen, cullen, to kill, strike; perh. the same word as cwellen, quellen, to kill (cf. Quell), or perh. rather akin to Icel. kolla to hit in the head, harm, kollr top, summit, head, Sw. kulle, D. kollen to kill with the ax.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordkill
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[OE. killen, kellen, cullen, to kill, strike; perh. the same word as cwellen, quellen, to kill (cf. Quell), or perh. rather akin to Icel. kolla to hit in the head, harm, kollr top, summit, head, Sw. kulle, D. kollen to kill with the ax.]
Selected historical definitionTo deprive of life, animal or vegetable, in any manner or by any means; to render inanimate; to put to death; to slay.
Signed record IDwebster1913-kill-verb-59f79a53c79b
Source locatorCIDE.K, paragraph 737; Gutenberg eBook 664
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 664Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "kill" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OE. killen, kellen, cullen, to kill, strike; perh. the same word as cwellen, quellen, to kill (cf. Quell), or perh. rather akin to Icel. kolla to hit in the head, harm, kollr top, summit, head, Sw. kulle, D. kollen to kill with the ax.]" The selected historical definition says: "To deprive of life, animal or vegetable, in any manner or by any means; to render inanimate; to put to death; to slay."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released K records

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verb

Kick

[W. cicio, fr. cic foot.]

Webster 1913 exact recordverb

Kiss

[OE. kissen, cussen, AS. cyssan, fr. coss a kiss; of uncertain origin; akin to D. kus, G. kuss, Icel. koss.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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