Where does “lilà” come from?
lilà (Catalan) comes from French lilas, from French lilac, from Arabic لِيلَك, from Persian نیلک, from Persian نیل, from Arabic نيل, from Middle Persian 𐭭𐭩𐭫, from Sanskrit नील — to lead.
Ancestry of “lilà”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | lilas | lilac |
| 2 | French | lilac | archaic form of lilas |
| 3 | Arabic | لِيلَك | lilac |
| 4 | Persian | نیلک | — |
| 5 | Persian | نیل | indigo |
| 6 | Arabic | نيل | verbal noun of نَالَ; indigo; to colour indigo |
| 7 | Middle Persian | 𐭭𐭩𐭫 | indigo |
| 8 | Sanskrit | नील | of a dark color |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | neyH- | to lead |
Words derived from “lilà”