heel

B1 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /hil/ UK /hiːl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

heal /hil/

Freq #7025

Meanings

1

noun
The back part of the foot, below the ankle.

My new shoes rubbed against my heels and gave me blisters.
2

noun
A shoe with a raised back part; (plural) high-heeled shoes.

She wore black heels to the party.
3

noun
The lower back part of the palm, near the wrist.

He pushed the door open with the heel of his hand.
4

verb
(of a boat) To lean over to one side.

The yacht heeled over in the strong wind.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

4 verb · (of a boat) to lean over to... list

More boot butt crustenderknob-endoutsider

Opposites

babyfacetoe

Word family

Forms heeledheelingheellessheels

Derived forms back-heelbackheelbootheelcowheeldown-at-heeldown-at-the-heeldown-at-the-heelsheel-and-toeheel-draggerheel-palmheelballheelbone

Etymology

From Middle English hele, from Old English hēla, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hilō, from Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel, hock”), equivalent to hock + -le. More at hock. Compare North Frisian haiel, West Frisian hyl, Dutch hiel, German Low German Hiel, Danish and Norwegian hæl, Swedish häl.

hele Middle English hēla Old English *hą̄hilō Proto-West Germanic *hanhilaz Proto-Germanic *hanhaz Proto-Germanic

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External links

# heel

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /hil/
**IPA (UK):** /hiːl/
**Frequency rank:** 7025

## Meanings
1. The back part of the foot, below the ankle.
2. A shoe with a raised back part; (plural) high-heeled shoes.
3. The lower back part of the palm, near the wrist.
4. (of a boat) To lean over to one side.

## Examples
- My new shoes rubbed against my heels and gave me blisters.
- She wore black heels to the party.
- He pushed the door open with the heel of his hand.
- The yacht heeled over in the strong wind.

## Synonyms
- boot
- butt
- crust
- ender
- knob-end
- outsider

## Antonyms
- babyface
- toe

## Derived Forms
- back-heel
- backheel
- bootheel
- cowheel
- down-at-heel
- down-at-the-heel
- down-at-the-heels
- heel-and-toe
- heel-dragger
- heel-palm
- heelball
- heelbone

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hele
- Root: hēla
- Root: *hą̄hilō
- Root: *hanhilaz
- Root: *hanhaz

## Etymology
From Middle English hele, from Old English hēla, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hilō, from Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel, hock”), equivalent to hock + -le. More at hock. Compare North Frisian haiel, West Frisian hyl, Dutch hiel, German Low German Hiel, Danish and Norwegian hæl, Swedish häl.

## AI Etymology
Heel comes from Middle English hele, from Old English hēla, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hilō, from Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel, hock”), equivalent to hock + -le. More at hock. Compare North Frisian haiel, West Frisian hyl, Dutch hiel, German Low German Hiel, Danish and Norwegian hæl, Swedish häl. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern verbal form is built from the named base and affix. In current use, the main senses are “The back part of the foot, below the ankle” and “A shoe with a raised back part; (plural) high-heeled shoes”.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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heel

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