A German word meaning 'because' or 'since,' used to introduce a causal clause. It expresses the reason or cause for something.
From Middle High German 'wīle' meaning 'time' or 'while.' The causal meaning developed from temporal usage, similar to how 'since' evolved in English from meaning 'after that time' to 'because.'
Weil demonstrates how temporal concepts naturally evolve into causal ones across languages. The same semantic shift from 'time' to 'reason' occurred independently in many languages, showing universal patterns in how humans think about causation!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.