color (English)

Where does "color" come from?

The English word 'color' comes from the Latin 'color'[1], which originated from the earlier form 'colōs'[2]. This Latin term traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*ḱel-' meaning 'to hide' or 'conceal'[2]. The word entered English through Anglo-Norman 'colur' and Old French 'colour'[1][3], eventually replacing native terms such as Middle English 'blee'[1]. While 'hue' remains in the language, it was also largely displaced by this imported term[1]. The modern American spelling 'color' was later popularized by Noah Webster to align with the word's Latin root and create consistency across related derivations[1]. It exists as a doublet of 'couleur'[1].

Open questions

The derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root meaning to hide relies on a reconstructed proto-form. [2]
The change from the original nominative singular form is attributed to an analogy with oblique forms where the intervocalic s regularly shifted to r. [2]

Full etymology tree

color (English), 'Conveying color, as opposed to shades of gray.'
- inherited colour (Middle English), 'colour, hue, shade'
  - borrowed colur (Anglo-Norman)
    - derived colour (Old French), 'alternative form of color'
      - inherited color (Latin), 'color (US), colour (UK); shade, hue, tint'
        inherited colos (Latin), 'alternative form of color'
        inherited *kelōs (Proto-Italic)
        inherited *ḱel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to cover'

Ancestors

colour (Middle English)
colour (Old French)
color (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

couleur (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris