Where does “cruel” come from?

cruel (French) comes from Spanish cruel, from Latin crūdēlis, from Latin crūdus, from Proto-Indo-European krewh₂- — blood outside the body.

cruel (French): cruel; hard, painful

Definitions

  1. cruel; hard, painful

Ancestry of “cruel”, step by step

cruel traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Spanish cruel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishcruelcruel
2Latincrūdēlisunfeeling, rude
3Latincrūdusraw, bloody, bleeding
4Proto-Indo-Europeankrewh₂-blood outside the body

via Old French cruel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchcruel—

Words derived from “cruel”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European krewh₂- →Every word from Latin crūdus →Every word from Latin crūdēlis →