Where does “color” come from?
Color comes from Middle English colour, from Anglo-Norman colur, from Latin color, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- meaning to conceal or cover.
color (English): The spectral composition of visible light; A...
Definitions
- The spectral composition of visible light; A...
Ancestry of “color”, step by step
color traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via French couleur
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | couleur | color, colour; a flush; suit |
| 2 | Italian | colore | color, colour; hue; pip |
| 3 | Polish | kolor | colour; suit; flush |
| 4 | Latin | color | colour, shade; color; pigment; complexion |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |