Cecil

in human anatomy, "the pouch at the beginning of the colon," 1721, from Latin intestinum caecum "blind gut," from neuter of caecus "blind, hidden," from Proto-Italic *kaiko-, from PIE *kehi-ko- "one-eyed," cognate with Old Irish ca'ech "one-eyed," coeg "empty," Welsh coeg-dall, Old Cornish cuic "one-eyed;" Gothic haihs "one-eyed, blind." So called for being prolonged into a cul-de-sac. Related: Caecal.

fem. proper name, fem. of Cecil (q.v.).

fem. proper name, Irish equivalent of Celia, shortened form of Cecilia, the fem. form of Cecil. A standard type of an Irish women's name since 1828, hence later slang sense of "girlfriend, young woman." An 1839 source has shalers as a "country phrase" for "girls," and this may represent the casual pronunciation of the name.