black hole (English)
Where does "black hole" come from?
The English term 'black hole' combines the native roots 'black', from the Proto-Germanic 'blakaz' meaning 'burnt'[2], and 'hole', derived from the Old English 'hol' referring to a hollow space[3]. While the phrase originally denoted a cell or place of confinement, its scientific usage emerged around 1960 to 1961 when physicist Robert H. Dicke compared collapsed stars to the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta[1]. Journalist Ann Ewing provided the first known printed instance of this scientific meaning in 1964[1]. By 1967, the term gained widespread popularization through the lectures of physicist John Wheeler[1].
Open questions
- The Proto-Germanic term for black is possibly derived from the Proto-Indo-European root meaning to burn or shine. [2]
- The ultimate origin of the Proto-Germanic word for hollow remains uncertain. [3]
Full etymology tree
- black hole (English), 'A place of punitive confinement; a lockup or cell; a military guardroom.'
- compound 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'
- derived *bʰleg- (Proto-Indo-European)
- 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)'
- compound hole (English), 'A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure.'
- inherited hole (Middle English), 'hole'
- inherited hol (Old English), 'hole'
- inherited *hol (Proto-West Germanic), 'hollow'
- inherited *hulą (Proto-Germanic), 'a hollow; depression; hole'
- derived *hulaz (Proto-Germanic), 'hollow'
- inherited *hulą (Proto-Germanic), 'a hollow; depression; hole'
- inherited *hol (Proto-West Germanic), 'hollow'
- inherited hol (Old English), 'hole'
- inherited hole (Middle English), 'hole'
- compound black (English), 'Absorbing all light and reflecting none; dark and hueless.'
Descendants and derived words
- ব্ল্যাক হোল (Bengali)
- ব্ল্যাকহোল (Bengali)
- black hole jet (English)
- black hole star (English)
- blanet (English)
- BZ black hole (English)
- eternal black hole (English)
- extremal black hole (English)
- intermediate black hole (English)
- intermediate mass black hole (English)
- Kerr black hole (English)
- Kerr-Newman black hole (English)
Sources
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris