blou (Afrikaans)
Where does "blou" come from?
The Afrikaans word 'blou' traces its origins back to the Proto-Germanic term *blēwaz, a word possibly linked to an ancient Indo-European root signifying bright colors like yellow or grey. Over centuries, it evolved through Old and Middle Dutch as *blāo and blau before settling into its modern Dutch form, blauw. It eventually entered Afrikaans, where it solidified its present-day meaning of the color blue.
Full etymology tree
- blou (Afrikaans), 'blue'
- inherited blauw (Dutch), 'blue'
- inherited blau (Middle Dutch), 'blue (color/colour)'
- inherited *blāo (Old Dutch), 'blue'
- inherited *blāu (Proto-West Germanic), 'blue'
- inherited *blēwaz (Proto-Germanic), 'blue'
- derived *bʰleh₁wos (Pre-Germanic)
- derived *bʰleh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to bleat'
- derived *bʰleh₁wos (Pre-Germanic)
- inherited *blēwaz (Proto-Germanic), 'blue'
- inherited *blāu (Proto-West Germanic), 'blue'
- inherited *blāo (Old Dutch), 'blue'
- inherited blau (Middle Dutch), 'blue (color/colour)'
- inherited blauw (Dutch), 'blue'
Ancestors
- blauw (Dutch)
- blau (Middle Dutch)
- *blāu (Proto-West Germanic)
- *blēwaz (Proto-Germanic)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris