Emily Dickinson Lexicon

A-THEL, or A-DEL, a. [or Æ-THEL.]

noble, of illustrious birth; Sax. ædel, æthel; G. adel; D. edel; Sw. ædel; Dan. ædel; Ar. أَثَلَ athala, to be well rooted, to be of noble origin. This word is found in many Saxon names; as, in Atheling, a noble youth; Ethelred, noble counsel; Ethelard, noble genius; Ethelbert, noble, bright, eminently noble. Ethelwald, noble government, or power; Ethelward, noble defender.