Where does “white” come from?

White comes from Middle English whit, Old English hwīt, Proto-Germanic hwītaz, and Proto-Indo-European ḱweytos, meaning bright or shining.

white (English): Bright and colourless; reflecting equal...

Definitions

  1. Bright and colourless; reflecting equal...

Ancestry of “white”, step by step

white traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English whit

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwhitwhite, pale, light; wearing white clothes; having...
2Old Englishhwītwhite
3Proto-West Germanichwītwhite
4Proto-Germanichwītazwhite
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱweytosbright; shine; shine; bright

via Middle English hwit

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishhwitwhite

Words derived from “white”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱweytos →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwītaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic hwīt →