Where does “scarlet” come from?
Scarlet comes from Middle English scarlet, from Old French escarlate, from Latin scarlatum, from Persian سقلاط, ultimately from Latin sigillum meaning seal, traced through Latin signum and Proto-Indo-European sek-.
scarlet (English): A brilliant red colour tinged with orange; Cloth...
Definitions
- A brilliant red colour tinged with orange; Cloth...
Ancestry of “scarlet”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | scarlet | — |
| 2 | Old French | escarlate | a sort of fine, expensive cloth |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | scarlatum | scarlet cloth; scarlet, cloth of scarlet |
| 4 | Persian | سقرلاط | a warm woollen cloth |
| 5 | Greek | σιγιλλᾶτος | — |
| 6 | Latin | sigillatum | nominative neuter singular of sigillātus;... |
| 7 | Latin | sigillo | I seal; I confirm; dative singular of sigillum |
| 8 | Latin | sigillum | figurine, statuette; seal |
| 9 | Latin | -lus | Alternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |