Where does “cologne” come from?
Cologne comes from French Cologne, from French de and Latin de, combined with Latin aqua meaning water, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂ekʷeh₂ and kʷel-.
cologne (English): A type of perfume consisting of 2-5% essential...
Definitions
- A type of perfume consisting of 2-5% essential...
Ancestry of “cologne”, step by step
cologne traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via French Cologne
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | Cologne | — |
| 2 | Old French | Cologne | — |
| 3 | Latin | colōnia | A colony, settlement |
| 4 | Latin | colōnus | farmer, especially a kind of tenant farmer or sharecropper; husbandman; tiller of the soil |
| 5 | Latin | colō | to cultivate the land, till, tend, take care of a field or garden |
| 6 | Latin | quelō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kʷelō | to inhabit |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷéleti | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷel- | to turn |
via French Eau de Cologne
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | Eau de Cologne | cologne a type of perfume consisting of 2–5% essential oils, 70–90% alcohol and water |
| 2 | Latin | Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium | — |
via Middle English Coloyne
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | Coloyne | — |