From Old English hēla, from Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz 'hock, angled joint.'
From Old English hēla 'heel,' from Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz, related to *hanhaz 'hock, angle joint.' The word refers to the angled part of the foot. The 'despicable person' sense is from wrestling slang, attested from the 1910s. Key roots: *kenk- (Proto-Indo-European: "heel, bend of the knee").