tile

Where does the word "tile" come from? It comes from Latin tegula, passing through Old English before entering English (1300s).

Tile’s story begins in Latin: tegula meant “roof tile.” From tegere 'to cover'; roof tiles made by the army were often stamped with the legion's number. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old English as tigele. Anglo-Saxons knew tiles mostly from Roman ruins; St Albans Abbey's tower, built from the 1070s, reuses thousands of Roman bricks and tiles from Verulamium. It reached English by 1300s as tile. The i-sound came from a shortened form tigle, as in German Ziegel 'brick'. Today, tile means a thin slab used to cover roofs, floors or walls.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical tegula "roof tile", from tegere 'to cover'; roof tiles made by the army were often stamped with the legion's number.
2. Stage 2 · Old English · medieval tigele "tile, brick", Anglo-Saxons knew tiles mostly from Roman ruins; St Albans Abbey's tower, built from the 1070s, reuses thousands of Roman bricks and tiles from Verulamium.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s tile "flat covering slab", the i-sound came from a shortened form tigle, as in German Ziegel 'brick'.