Where does “watercolour” come from?
Watercolour comes from English water and colour, with water tracing back through Old English wæter and Proto-West Germanic watar to Proto-Germanic watōr, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wódr̥ meaning liquid or water.
watercolour (English): A water-soluble pigment; A painting made by using...
Definitions
- A water-soluble pigment; A painting made by using...
Ancestry of “watercolour”, step by step
watercolour traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English colour
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | colour | Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South... |
| 2 | Middle English | colour | colour, hue, shade; pigment, dye; method |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | colur | Alternative form of color |
| 4 | Old French | colour | Alternative form of color |
| 5 | Latin | color | colour, shade; color; pigment; complexion |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
via English water
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | water | A substance found at room temperature and... |
| 2 | Middle English | water | water; water vapour, condensation; lake, pond,... |
| 3 | Old English | wæter | water |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | watar | water |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | watōr | water |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wódr̥ | water |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wed- | water |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wey- | to wither; fade; to move, go ahead; to be strong;... |