Where does “Cetatea Albă” come from?
Cetatea Albă (Romanian) comes from Romanian alb, from Latin Albus, from Proto-Italic alβos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂élbʰos — white.
Ancestry of “Cetatea Albă”, step by step
Cetatea Albă traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Romanian alb
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Romanian | alb | white; clean, pure, immaculate; the color white |
| 2 | Latin | Albus | white properly without, dull white |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | alβos | white |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂élbʰos | white |
via Romanian cetate
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Romanian | cetate | citadel; fortress |
| 2 | Late Latin | civitas | — |
| 3 | Latin | cīvis | citizen |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱey- | to be lying down; to settle |