Where does “colourless” come from?
Colourless comes from Middle English -les, Old English -lēas meaning "lacking" and lēas, from Proto-Germanic lausaz and Proto-Indo-European lewH-.
colourless (English): Having little or no colour; Water white; Lacking...
Definitions
- Having little or no colour; Water white; Lacking...
Ancestry of “colourless”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | color | The spectral composition of visible light; A... |
| 2 | French | couleur | color, colour; a flush; suit |
| 3 | Italian | colore | color, colour; hue; pip |
| 4 | Polish | kolor | colour; suit; flush |
| 5 | Latin | color | colour, shade; color; pigment; complexion |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |