Where does “kohlrabenschwarz” come from?

kohlrabenschwarz (German) comes from German Kohle, from Middle High German kole, from German Kohl, from Middle High German kōl, from Old High German kol, from Proto-West Germanic kol, from Proto-Germanic kulą, from Proto-Indo-European gʷol- — to burn; to shine.

kohlrabenschwarz (German): pitch black

Definitions

  1. pitch black

Ancestry of “kohlrabenschwarz”, step by step

kohlrabenschwarz traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via German Kohle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanKohlecoal; a coal; a piece of coal; money; dough; dosh
2Middle High Germankole
3GermanKohlcabbage; nonsense; idle talk
4Middle High Germankōl
5Old High Germankolcoal
6Proto-West Germanickolcoal
7Proto-Germanickulącoal
8Proto-Indo-Europeangʷol-
9Proto-Indo-EuropeanǵwelH-to burn; to shine

via German Rabe

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanRaberaven; the constellation Corvus
2Old High Germanraboa raven
3Proto-West Germanichrabnraven
4Proto-Germanichrabnazraven
5Proto-Indo-Europeanḱorh₂-
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱer-to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeankr̥-to turn, to bend
8Proto-Indo-Europeanker-army

via German Schwärz

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanSchwärz
2Middle High Germanswarz
3Old High Germanswarzblack
4Proto-West Germanicswartblack
5Proto-Germanicswartazblack
6Proto-Indo-Europeanswordo-dirty, dark, black
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵwelH-Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷol-Every word from Proto-Germanic kulą