Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “glass” come from?

Glass comes from Middle English glas, from Old English glæs, from Proto-Germanic glasą, from Proto-Indo-European gʰel-, with the ultimate origin and sense development obscure.

glass (English): An amorphous solid, often transparent substance...

Definitions

  1. An amorphous solid, often transparent substance...

Ancestry of “glass”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Scottish Gaelicglasgreen; grey; lock
2Middle Irishglas—
3Old Irishglasgreen, greenish; blue, green-blue, grey-blue; the...
4Proto-Celticglastosgreen, blue
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰl̥h₃stós—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰelh₃-to flourish; green, yellow

Words derived from “glass”

  • glasses
  • sunglasses
  • eyeglasses
  • glassware
  • hourglass
  • eyeglass
  • spyglass
  • glassful
  • glasshouse
  • fibreglass
  • glassmaking
  • glassworks
  • glassine
  • glassless
  • glassblower
  • glasslike
  • glassblowing
  • coverglass
  • glassmaker
  • sunglass
  • glasswork
  • glasspaper
  • sandglass
  • sunnies
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃- →