Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “colors” come from?

Colors comes from Middle English colour, from Anglo-Norman colur, from Latin color meaning appearance or hue, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- meaning to conceal or hide.

colors (English): plural of color; Third-person singular simple...

Definitions

  1. plural of color; Third-person singular simple...

Ancestry of “colors”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcolorThe spectral composition of visible light; A...
2Frenchcouleurcolor, colour; a flush; suit
3Italiancolorecolor, colour; hue; pip
4Polishkolorcolour; suit; flush
5Latincolorcolour, shade; color; pigment; complexion
6Ancient Greekμέτρονsomething used to measure: measure, rule, weight;...
7Ancient Greek-τρονForms instrument nouns
8Proto-Hellenic-tronForms instrument nouns from verb stems
9Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
10Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

Words derived from “colors”

  • multicolors
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr →