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sile

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Sile¹

Where it comes from

From Irish Síle and Scottish Gaelic Sìle.

proper noun

  1. alternative Alternative spelling of Sheila

sile²

  • /saɪl/

Rhymes with -aɪl

Where it comes from

From Middle English syle, from Old English sȳl (“column, pillar, support”), from Proto-West Germanic *sūli, from Proto-Germanic *sūliz (“beam, post, column, pillar”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱsewl-, *ḱswel- (“log”), from *ḱsew-, *ḱes- (“to scratch, comb”).

Cognate with Dutch zuil (“pillar”), German Säule (“column, pillar”), Norwegian søyle (“pillar”), Icelandic súla (“column”), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌻𐍃 (sauls, “pillar”).

noun siles · syle · cyle

  1. dialectal A column; pillar.
  2. dialectal A beam; rafter; one of the principal rafters of a building.
  3. dialectal The foot or lower part of a couple or rafter; base.
  4. dialectal A roof rafter or couple, usually one of a pair.

sile³

  • /saɪl/

Rhymes with -aɪl

Where it comes from

From Middle English silen, sylen, from Middle Low German silen ("to let off water, filter, strain"; > Low German silen, sielen), equivalent to sie (“to filter, strain”) + -le. Cognate with German sielen (“let off water, filter”), Swedish sila (“to strain, filter, sift”), German Siel (“drain, sewer, sluice”).

verb siles · siling · siled

  1. UK, dialectal, transitive To strain, as milk; pass through a strainer or anything similar; filter.
  2. UK, dialectal, intransitive To flow down; drip; drop; fall; sink.
  3. UK, dialectal, intransitive To settle down; calm or compose oneself.
  4. UK, dialectal, intransitive To go; pass.
  5. UK, dialectal, intransitive To boil gently; simmer.
  6. UK, dialectal, intransitive To pour with rain. Th' rain had siled daan day and neet.

noun siles

  1. UK, dialectal A sieve.
  2. UK, dialectal A strainer or colander for liquids
  3. UK, dialectal That which is sifted or strained, hence, settlings; sediment; filth.

sile⁴

  • /saɪl/

Rhymes with -aɪl

Where it comes from

From Middle English *sile, from Old Norse síl (“herring”), from Proto-Germanic *sīlą, *sīlō (“herring”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Icelandic síld (“herring”), Norwegian and Danish sild (“herring”), dialectal Swedish sil (“young fish, fry”). Compare sild.

noun siles

  1. UK, dialectal A young herring.

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Cite this
MLA

"sile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sile. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sile. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sile

Chicago

"sile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sile.

BibTeX
@misc{sile_2026,
  title = {sile},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sile},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}