Where does “cruel” come from?

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

Ancestry of “cruel”, step by step

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

Words derived from “cruel”

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