yfel

Middle English

Adjective

yfel

1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of yvel (“evil”)

Old English

Alternative forms

• efel, eofel

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *ubil, from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈy.fel/,

Adjective

yfel (comparative wiersa, superlative wierrest)

1. bad
2. bad in a moral sense, evil

Usage notes

• Yfel was the general word for “bad,” not just “evil.” Hence phrases such as yfel ġesihþ (“bad eyesight”), yfel hlyst (“bad hearing”), yfel wyrd (“bad fortune”), and yfel bȳsn (“bad example”).

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: yvel, uvel, evel
  • English: evil
  • Scots: evil, ewil

Noun

yfel n

1. something bad or bad things collectively; harm, misfortune
2. evil
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Saint Augustine's Soliloquies

     ...;sē ūs ġescylt wið eallum yfellum.

     ...;He shieldeth us against every evil.

Declension

Synonyms

• (adjective): un-
• gal
• unweorþ

Antonyms

• gōd (“good”)

Derived terms

• yfele (“badly”)
• yfelian (“to wrong”)
• yfelsacian (“to blaspheme”)
• yfelwillende (“malicious”)

Descendants

• Middle English: yvel, uvel, evel
  • English: evil
  • Scots: evil, ewil