black (English)
Where does "black" come from?
The English word 'black' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *bʰleg-, meaning 'to burn or shine.' This ancient sense of heat and fire evolved into the Proto-Germanic *blakaz, meaning 'burnt,' eventually passing through Old English as 'blæc' before becoming the modern term we use today. Linguistically, it highlights an ancient connection between the concept of fire's intensity and the resulting darkness or char it leaves behind.
Full etymology tree
- black (English), 'Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.'
- inherited blak (Middle English), 'black (of a black color)'
- inherited blæc (Old English), 'black'
- inherited *blak (Proto-West Germanic), 'burnt, blackened'
- inherited *blakaz (Proto-Germanic), 'burnt'
- inherited *bʰleg- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *melh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to grind, to crush'
- inherited *blakaz (Proto-Germanic), 'burnt'
- inherited *blak (Proto-West Germanic), 'burnt, blackened'
- inherited blæc (Old English), 'black'
- inherited blak (Middle English), 'black (of a black color)'
Direct ancestors
- blak (Middle English)
- blæc (Old English)
- blak (Proto-West Germanic)
- blakaz (Proto-Germanic)
- blaken (Dutch)
- flagro (Latin)
- φλόξ (Ancient Greek)
- भर्ग (Sanskrit)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris