late 14c., from Anglo-French sillable, alteration of Old French silabe "syllable" (12c., Modern French syllabe), from Latin syllaba, from Greek syllabe "that which is held together; a syllable, several sounds or letters taken together," i.e. "a taking together" of letters; from syllambanein "take or put together, collect, gather," from assimilated form of syn- "together" (see syn-) + stem of lambanein "to take" (see analemma). The unetymological -le apparently is by analogy with participle and principle.