Where does “turquoise” come from?
turquoise (Middle French) comes from Old French turquois, from Old French -ois, from Latin -ensis, from Latin arvum, from Latin colō, from Latin quelō, from Proto-Italic kʷelō, from Proto-Indo-European kʷéleti — to turn.
turquoise (Middle French): turquoise precious stone
Definitions
- turquoise precious stone
Ancestry of “turquoise”, step by step
turquoise traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French turquois
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | turquois | Turkish |
| 2 | Old French | -ois | used to form nationalities; used to form names of... |
| 3 | Latin | -ensis | Of or from |
| 4 | Latin | arvum | field; farm land |
| 5 | Latin | colō | to cultivate the land, till, tend, take care of a field or garden |
| 6 | Latin | quelō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kʷelō | to inhabit |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷéleti | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷel- | to turn |
via Old French turquoise
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | turquoise | — |