Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Gold” come from?

Gold (English) comes from Middle English gold, from Old English gold, from Proto-Germanic gulþą, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰl̥tóm, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃- — to flourish; green, yellow.

Ancestry of “Gold”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishgoldgold
2Old Englishgoldgold
3Proto-Germanicgulþągold
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰl̥tómgold
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰelh₃-to flourish; green, yellow
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃- →