blank (English)
Where does "blank" come from?
The word 'blank' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ-, meaning 'to shine.' It evolved through Proto-Germanic and Frankish as *blank, a term for something gleaming or blindingly white, before entering English via Old French and Anglo-Norman. Over time, the word shifted from describing a bright, shining surface to the modern sense of an empty or featureless space waiting to be filled.
Full etymology tree
- blank (English), 'White or pale; without colour.'
- inherited blank (Middle English)
- inherited blanc (Anglo-Norman)
- inherited blanc (Old French), 'white'
- learned borrowing blancus (Latin), 'white'
- derived *blank (Frankish)
- inherited *blankaz (Proto-Germanic), 'bright, shining, white, gleaming, blinding'
- derived *blinkaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to shine, glitter, twinkle'
- inherited *bʰleyǵ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to shine'
- derived *bʰel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to sound; to speak, roar, bark'
- inherited *bʰleyǵ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to shine'
- derived *bʰlongós (Pre-Germanic)
- derived *blakaz (Proto-Germanic), 'burnt'
- inherited *bʰleg- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *melh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to grind, to crush'
- derived *blakaz (Proto-Germanic), 'burnt'
- derived *blinkaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to shine, glitter, twinkle'
- inherited *blankaz (Proto-Germanic), 'bright, shining, white, gleaming, blinding'
- derived *blank (Frankish)
- learned borrowing blancus (Latin), 'white'
- inherited blanc (Old French), 'white'
- inherited blanc (Anglo-Norman)
- inherited blank (Middle English)
Direct ancestors
- bʰleyǵ- (Proto-Indo-European)
- blanc (Old French)
- blankaz (Proto-Germanic)
- bʰleyǵ- (Proto-Indo-European)
- blank (German)
- blanc (Old English)
- blanco (Spanish)
- blanc (English)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris