Where does “Bluebeard” come from?
Bluebeard (English) comes from English Blue, from Middle English blēwe, from Anglo-Norman blew, from Middle French bleu, from Old French blöe, from Latvian blāvus, from Old High German blāo, from Proto-West Germanic blāu — yellow, blond, grey.
Bluebeard (English): A man who marries and then murders one wife after...
Definitions
- A man who marries and then murders one wife after...
Ancestry of “Bluebeard”, step by step
Bluebeard traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English Blue
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Blue | A letterman at Oxford or Cambridge; A member of... |
| 2 | Middle English | blēwe | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | blew | blue |
| 4 | Middle French | bleu | blue |
| 5 | Old French | blöe | blue |
| 6 | Latvian | blāvus | accusative plural masculine form of blāvs |
| 7 | Old High German | blāo | blue, dark, grey; blue; yellow |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | blāu | blue |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | blēwaz | blue; a dark bluish or grey colour, black |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰlēw- | yellow, blond, grey |
via French Barbe-Bleue
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | Barbe-Bleue | Bluebeard |
| 2 | French | barbe | beard; longer hair growing on the chin or face of... |
| 3 | Middle French | barbe | beard |
| 4 | Old French | barbe | beard |
| 5 | Latin | barba | beard; wool, down on a plant; Alternative form of... |
| 6 | Latin | farba | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | farβā | beard |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰardʰéh₂ | beard |