geil

„geil“ goes back through Middle and Old High German „geil“ to Germanic gaila- ('exuberant, wanton, merry') and is attested since the 8th century; the underlying Indo-European root ghei- means 'to desire, to want'. The sexual sense 'lustful' is secondary; there are also technical senses (rampantly growing plants, over-fertilized soil). In modern colloquial and youth language „geil“ is generalized to mean 'great, super, awesome'.