From PIE *h₂el- (sharp point)—one of the oldest, most unchanged tool-words in English.
A small pointed tool used for piercing holes in leather, wood, or other materials.
From Old English 'æl, awel,' from Proto-Germanic *alō (awl, sharp tool), from PIE *h₂el- (sharp point). One of the oldest tool-words in English, virtually unchanged in form and meaning for over a thousand years. Key roots: *h₂el- (Proto-Indo-European: "sharp, pointed").