Where does “ecru” come from?
ecru (English) comes from French écru, from French crû, from French croître, from Middle French croistre, from Old French croistre, from Latin crēscō, from Proto-Italic krēskō, from Proto-Indo-European ḱer- — army.
ecru (English): Alternative form of ecru
Ancestry of “ecru”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | écru | raw |
| 2 | French | crû | past participle of croître |
| 3 | French | croître | to grow |
| 4 | Middle French | croistre | to increase; to augment |
| 5 | Old French | croistre | to increase; to augment |
| 6 | Latin | crēscō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | krēskō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |