Etymograph

English

white

White comes from Middle English whit ‘white, pale, light (in color)’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱweydós.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱweydósreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwītazreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hwītreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hwīt
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500whit‘white’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592white

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱweydósreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwītazreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hwītreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hwīt
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500whit‘white’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592white

Earliest quotation: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “'Twas I won the wager, though you hit the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *hwītaz

wheat, 3 more

Today it means

adj Bright and colourless; reflecting equal quantities of all frequencies of visible light.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱweydós / white

Shirt and support for this word