Etymograph

English

bleach

Bleach comes from Middle English blechen ‘to bleach (cloth)’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to shine’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blaikijaną‘to bleach, to make pale, to whiten’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blaikijan‘to bleach, make pale, whiten’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150blǣċan‘to bleach, whiten’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blechen‘to bleach (cloth)’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1538bleach

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blaikijaną‘to bleach, to make pale, to whiten’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blaikijan‘to bleach, make pale, whiten’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150blǣċan‘to bleach, whiten’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blechen‘to bleach (cloth)’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1538bleach

Earliest quotation: 1538, Thomas Elyot, The Dictionary of Syr Thomas Eliot Knyght: “Candifacio, to make whyte, to bleache, to make to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to shine’

ball, bowl, bell, bull, bold, flame, bald, boil, blaze, blizzard, bale, bolster, blush, blur, budge, sabha, bola, phallus, blemish, phlox, phlegm, bolero, blithe, blain, bleat, 74 more

Another origin of bleach

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blaikį̄‘paleness’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150blǣċu‘paleness, pallor’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bleche
  4. Englishtodaybleach

Today it means

noun A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- / bleach

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