An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/übel

by Friedrich Kluge

übel, adjective, ‘evil, bad, wrong; sick,’ from Middle High German übel, Old High German ubil, ‘bad, wicked’; a common Teutonic adjective corresponding to Old Saxon uƀil, Dutch euvel. Anglo-Saxon yfel, English evil, Gothic ubils, ‘bad.’ With these are connected Old High German uppi (from Teutonic ubjo-), ‘vicious, malignant; villain,’ as well as the cognates of Modern High German üppig. The word has been supposed to be related to the preposition über (Aryan upérî), so that Teutonic uƀilo-, from upelo-, meant literally ‘that which oversteps a limit or is contrary to rule.’ Nothing positive, however, can be asserted, since the word is specifically Teutonic; or is Old Irish uall, ‘pride,’ cognate?.