Etymograph

English

flame

Flame comes from Latin flamma, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to shimmer, gleam, shine’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to shimmer, gleam, shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*flagmāreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEflamma
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400flaumbe
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flawme‘a flame’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1667flame

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to shimmer, gleam, shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*flagmāreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEflamma
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400flaumbe
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flawme‘a flame’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1667flame

Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book V: “in a flame of zeal severe”.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to shimmer, gleam, shine’

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

through Latin flamma

inflammable, flambeau, 9 more

Another origin of flame

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400flamber
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flawmen‘to produce or release flames’
  3. Englishtodayflame

Today it means

noun The visible part of fire; a stream of burning vapour or gas, emitting light and heat.

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

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

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