Where does “grayscale” come from?
Grayscale combines English grey, from Proto-Indo-European gʰer-, with English scale, from Latin scala, itself from Latin scadla and Latin scandere, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)kel-.
grayscale (English): A printed strip of graduated tones used to check...
Definitions
- A printed strip of graduated tones used to check...
Ancestry of “grayscale”, step by step
grayscale traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English scale
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | scale | A ladder; a series of steps; a means of... |
| 2 | Middle English | scale | flake |
| 3 | Latin | scāla | ladder |
| 4 | Latin | scandere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 5 | Latin | scandō | to climb, ascend, mount |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱend- | to jump up, ascend |
via English Gray
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Gray | originally a nickname for someone with a gray beard or hair |
| 2 | Latin | Graecus | Greek, Grecian, of or pertaining to the Greek... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | Γραικός | Greek; a Graecian, a member of an ancient... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | γραῖα | Graea, Boeotia; Greece |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵerh₂- | to grow old, to mature |