Etymology Explorer › Middle High German

Where does “bleichen” come from?

bleichen (Middle High German) comes from Old High German bleihhen, from Proto-West Germanic *blaikijan, from Proto-Germanic blaikijaną, from Proto-Germanic blaikaz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰloyǵ-os, from Proto-Indo-European bʰleyǵ- — to shine.

Ancestry of “bleichen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanbleihhen—
2Proto-West Germanic*blaikijan—
3Proto-Germanicblaikijanąto bleach, to make pale, to whiten
4Proto-Germanicblaikazpale, white
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰloyǵ-os—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰleyǵ-to shine

Words derived from “bleichen”

  • Bleichmittel
  • bleichen
  • Bleichstoff
  • verbleichen
  • bleechen
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰleyǵ- →