wit (Afrikaans)
Where does "wit" come from?
The Afrikaans word 'wit' descended from the Dutch 'wit' and traces its roots back to the Proto-Germanic word *hwittaz. This ancient term for 'white' or 'bright' likely originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱweytos, which expressed the concept of shining radiance. Over millennia, it journeyed through Old and Middle Dutch before settling into its modern form.
Full etymology tree
- wit (Afrikaans), 'white (colour)'
- inherited wit (Dutch), 'white'
- inherited wit (Middle Dutch), 'white'
- inherited wīt (Old Dutch), 'white'
- inherited *hwīt (Proto-West Germanic), 'white'
- inherited *hwītaz (Proto-Germanic), 'white'
- inherited *ḱweytos (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *kweyd-nos (Pre-Germanic)
- inherited *ḱwitnós (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *ḱweytōr (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *ḱwitnós (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *hwītaz (Proto-Germanic), 'white'
- inherited *hwīt (Proto-West Germanic), 'white'
- inherited wīt (Old Dutch), 'white'
- inherited wit (Middle Dutch), 'white'
- inherited wit (Dutch), 'white'
Ancestors
- wit (Dutch)
- wit (Middle Dutch)
- wit (Old Dutch)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris