An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Diele

by Friedrich Kluge

Diele, feminine, ‘plank, board,’ from Middle High German dil, dille, feminine, masculine, ‘board, partition of boards, boarded floor’ (in Low German ‘vestibule’), Old High German dili, masculine (neuter?), dilla, feminine, with the same meaning. Originally Teutonic þeloz, þiliz, neuter, ‘board,’ was þiljôn, ‘made of boards’; compare Anglo-Saxon þël, ‘board,’ Old Icelandic þilja, ‘rowing seat’ (Finnish teljo ‘ship's beam, oar-bench,’ comes from Teutonic). Compare further Dutch deel, ‘board, floor,’ Middle Low German dêle, ‘board.’ Lithuanian tile, ‘plank of a boat,’ Old Slovenian tĭlo, ‘ground,’ Sanscrit tala-m, ‘surface,’ seem to be primitively allied; also Latin tellus, ‘earth’?.