Where does “chiaro-scuro” come from?
chiaro-scuro (English) comes from Italian chiaroscuro, from Italian oscuro, from Latin obscūrus, from Latin ob-, from Latin obolus, from Ancient Greek ὀβολός, from Ancient Greek ὀβελός, from Ancient Greek βέλος — to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing.
Ancestry of “chiaro-scuro”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | chiaroscuro | chiaroscuro; contrasts, ups and downs;... |
| 2 | Italian | oscuro | first-person singular present of oscurare; dark;... |
| 3 | Latin | obscūrus | dark, dusky, shadowy |
| 4 | Latin | ob- | towards; against |
| 5 | Latin | obolus | obolus (Greek coin) |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ὀβολός | obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ὀβελός | a spit, rod; a horizontal line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | βέλος | missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷélHos | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |