heel

Heel comes from Middle English hele, from Old English hēla, tracing back through Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hilō to Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz — a diminutive of *hanhaz, meaning 'heel' or 'hock.'

The word has stayed remarkably close to its roots: from an ancient Germanic word for the hock joint, shrunk down with a diminutive ending, to the English word for the back of the foot.

Heel is a diminutive relative of hock, both descending from the same Proto-Germanic root *hanhaz.