Etymology Explorer › Serbo-Croatian

Where does “zèlen” come from?

zèlen (Serbo-Croatian) comes from Proto-Slavic zelenъ, from Proto-Slavic zelti, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃- — to flourish; green, yellow.

Ancestry of “zèlen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Slaviczelenъgreen
2Proto-Slaviczelti—
3Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰelh₃-to flourish; green, yellow

Words derived from “zèlen”

  • zimzelen
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃- →