Etymology From Middle English sel, sele, from Old English *sǣle (“good, fortunate, happy”) (attested in Old English unsǣle (“evil, wicked”)), from Proto-Germanic *sēliz (“good, happy”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *sēl- (“to calm, quiet, be favourable”). Cognate with Danish sæl (“blissful”), Dutch zalig (“blissful”), Gothic 𐍃𐌴𐌻𐍃 (sēls, “good, kind, useful”), Icelandic sæll (“blissful”), Latin sōlor (“to comfort, console”), Swedish säll (“blissful”).
Etymology From Middle English sele, sel, from Old English sǣl (“time, occasion, a fit time, season, opportunity, the definite time at which an event should take place, time as in bad or good times, circumstances, condition, position, happiness, joy, good fortune, good time, prosperity”), from Proto-Germanic *sēliz (“luck, joy”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel-, *sēl- (“to calm, quiet, be favourable”). Cognate with Icelandic sæla (“bliss”), Dutch zalig (“blissful, blessed”). More at silly.
Etymology From Middle English silen, from Old French siller, ciller (“to sew up the eyelids of, hoodwink, wink”), from cil (“eyelid”), from Latin cilium (“eyelid, eyelash”).
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Falconry, Hobbies, Hunting, Lifestyle To sew together the eyelids of a young hawk.
Hey who does blindly soar at Rhodalind[…] Mounts, like seel'd doves, still higher[…]1651, William Davenant, Gondibert:
Etymology Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *sīgan (“to drop”). Compare Low German sielen (“to lead off water”), French siller (“to run ahead, to make headway”), and English sile (transitive verb).
1
Obsolete, Of a ship To roll on the waves in a storm.
when a Ship seels or rowls in foul Weatherc. 1611, Walter Raleigh, Observations on the Navy and Sea Service:
seel
noun
Etymology Ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *sīgan (“to drop”). Compare Low German sielen (“to lead off water”), French siller (“to run ahead, to make headway”), and English sile (transitive verb).
1
Obsolete The rolling or agitation of a ship in a storm.
The ship hulls as the billows flow; / And all aboard at ev'ry seel, / Like drunkards, on the hatches reel.1636, G[eorge] S[andys], “(please specify the page)”, in A Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of David. And upon the Hymnes Dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments, London: [Andrew Hebb […]], →OCLC: