Where does “Blackbeard” come from?
Blackbeard is a compound of English black and Middle English berd from Old English beard, ultimately derived through Old Norse bleikr and Proto-Indo-European roots referring to brightness and growth.
Blackbeard (English): The archetypal pirate, who lived in the 17th and 18th centuries
Definitions
- The archetypal pirate, who lived in the 17th and 18th centuries
Ancestry of “Blackbeard”, step by step
Blackbeard traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Black
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Black | Alternative letter-case form of black |
| 2 | Old French | blanc | white |
| 3 | Late Latin | blancus | white |
| 4 | Frankish | blank | bright; gleaming, white, blinding; bright,... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *blank | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | blankaz | bright, shining, white, gleaming, blinding |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bhleg- | to shine, white; to shine, burn, scorch |