Where does “blackface” come from?
Blackface comes from English black and English face, with black deriving from Middle English black, Old English blæc, and Latin facia ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bhleg-.
blackface (English): A style of makeup in which a non-black person...
Definitions
- A style of makeup in which a non-black person...
Ancestry of “blackface”, step by step
blackface 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 |