Where does “whiten” come from?
Whiten comes from Middle English whitenen, from Old Norse hvítna, from Proto-Germanic hwītnōną, from Proto-Indo-European kwind-.
whiten (English): to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Definitions
- to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
Ancestry of “whiten”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | whitenen | — |
| 2 | Old Norse | hvítna | to whiten |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwītnōną | to whiten, become white |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | kwind- | — |
Words derived from “whiten”