Etymograph

English

colt

Colt comes from Middle English colt ‘a juvenile equid or camel’, from Proto-Germanic *kultaz ‘plump’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to ball up, amass’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-‘to ball up, amass’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gelt-‘something round, pregnant belly, child in the womb’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kultaz‘plump’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150colt
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a juvenile equid or camel’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-‘to ball up, amass’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gelt-‘something round, pregnant belly, child in the womb’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kultaz‘plump’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150colt
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a juvenile equid or camel’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598same form

Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Ay, that's a colt indeed, for he doth nothing…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to ball up, amass’

clean, childhood, cloud, globe, cold, chill, cluster, gel, jelly, childish, clout, clot, childless, gelatin, clough, gelato, glebe, ganglion, clod, childe, stepchildren, globus, stepchild, klutz, globulin, 42 more

through Proto-Indo-European *gelt- ‘something round, pregnant belly, child in the…’

children, child, 9 more

Today it means

noun A young male horse.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gel- / colt

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