Where does “bleak” come from?

Bleak derives from Middle English bleke, from Old English blǣġe, from Proto-Germanic blaigijǭ, from Proto-Indo-European bʰleyk-.

bleak (English): Without color; pale; pallid; Desolate and...

Definitions

  1. Without color; pale; pallid; Desolate and...

Ancestry of “bleak”, step by step

bleak traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English bleke

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishblekesmall river fish, bleak, blay
2Old Englishblǣċ—
3Proto-Germanicblaikazpale, white
4Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰloyǵ-os—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰleyǵ-to shine

via Old Norse bleikr

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsebleikrpale, whitish

Words derived from “bleak”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰleyǵ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰloyǵ-os →Every word from Proto-Germanic blaikaz →