fem. proper name, originally a shortening of Old English Etheldred, Ethelinda, etc., in which the first elements mean "noble, nobility," from Proto-Germanic *athala- (see atheling).
Entries linking to ethel
Etheldred
Anglo-Saxon fem. proper name, Old English Æðelðryð, literally "of noble strength" (see Audrey).
atheling n.
"member of a noble family," Old English æðling, from æðel "noble family, race, ancestry; nobility, honor," related to Old English æðele "noble," from Proto-Germanic *athala- (cognates: Old Frisian edila "(great-)grandfather," Old Saxon athali "noble descent, property," Old High German adal "noble family"), which is perhaps from PIE *at-al- "race, family," from *at(i)- "over, beyond, super" + *al- "to nourish." With suffix -ing "belonging to." A common Germanic word, cognates include Old Saxon ediling, Old Frisian etheling, Old High German adaling.