Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “obscur” come from?

obscur (Old French) comes from Latin obscūrus, from Latin ob-, from Latin obolus, from Ancient Greek ὀβολός, from Ancient Greek ὀβελός, from Ancient Greek βέλος, from Proto-Indo-European gʷélHos, from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- — to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing.

Ancestry of “obscur”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinobscūrus—
2Latinob-towards; against
3Latinobolusobolus
4Ancient Greekὀβολόςobol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
5Ancient Greekὀβελόςa spit, rod; a horizontal line
6Ancient Greekβέλοςmissile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
7Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷélHos—
8Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷelH-to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

Words derived from “obscur”

  • obscure
  • obscurely
  • obscurer
  • obscureness
  • obscurement
  • obscurist
  • semiobscure
  • unobscure
  • obscurable
  • unobscurable
  • subobscure
  • subobscurely
  • obscurcir
  • obscuur
  • obscure
  • obscurcir
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →