Etymology Explorer › Portuguese

Where does “Bluetooth” come from?

Bluetooth (Portuguese) comes from English Bluetooth, from English Blue, from Middle English blēwe, from Anglo-Norman blew, from Middle French bleu, from Old French blöe, from Latvian blāvus, from Old High German blāo — yellow, blond, grey.

Ancestry of “Bluetooth”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBluetooth—
2EnglishBlueA letterman at Oxford or Cambridge; A member of...
3Middle Englishblēwe—
4Anglo-Normanblewblue
5Middle Frenchbleublue
6Old Frenchblöe—
7Latvianblāvusaccusative plural masculine form of blāvs
8Old High Germanblāoblue, dark, grey; blue; yellow
9Proto-West Germanicblāublue
10Proto-Germanicblēwazblue; a dark bluish or grey colour, black
11Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰlēw-yellow, blond, grey
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰlēw- →