Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “blew” come from?

blew (English) comes from Middle English blew, from Old French blöe, from Latvian blāvus, from Old High German blāo, from Proto-West Germanic blāu, from Proto-Germanic blēwaz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰlēw- — yellow, blond, grey.

blew (English): simple past tense of blow; past participle of...

Definitions

  1. simple past tense of blow; past participle of...

Ancestry of “blew”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishblewAlternative form of blewe
2Old Frenchblöe—
3Latvianblāvusaccusative plural masculine form of blāvs
4Old High Germanblāoblue, dark, grey; blue; yellow
5Proto-West Germanicblāublue
6Proto-Germanicblēwazblue; a dark bluish or grey colour, black
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰlēw-yellow, blond, grey
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰlēw- →