Where does “sombre” come from?
Sombre comes from French sombre, derived from French sombrer, which combines Latin sub- with Latin sub, traced through Proto-Italic supo and Proto-Indo-European upo to the root h₃ewp-.
sombre (English): Dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit; Dull or dark in...
Definitions
- Dark; gloomy; shadowy, dimly lit; Dull or dark in...
Ancestry of “sombre”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | sombre | dark; first-person singular present indicative of... |
| 2 | Old French | sombre | — |
| 3 | Old French | sombrer | — |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | subumbrare | to shadow |
| 5 | Latin | sub | under, beneath; behind; at the feet of |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | supo | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
Words derived from “sombre”