couleur (English)

Where does "couleur" come from?

The English word 'couleur' was borrowed directly from French 'couleur'[1], serving as a doublet of 'color'. French inherited the term from Middle French 'couleur' and Old French 'color'[2], which traces back to Latin 'colōrem'[2][4]. Originally attested in Latin as 'colōs'[3], the word derives through Proto-Italic '*kelōs' from the Proto-Indo-European root '*ḱel-', meaning 'to hide' or 'conceal'[3].

Open questions

• The Proto-Italic ancestor '*kelōs' and the Proto-Indo-European root '*ḱel-' are reconstructed forms not directly attested in writing. [3]

Full etymology tree

• couleur (English), 'A suit of cards, in certain French card games.'
  • borrowed couleur (French), 'color/colour'
    • inherited couleur (Middle French)
      • inherited color (Old French), 'color / colour'
        • derived color (Latin), 'color (US), colour (UK); shade, hue, tint'
          • derived colos (Latin), 'alternative form of color'
            • derived *kelōs (Proto-Italic)
              • derived *ḱel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to cover'

Ancestors

• couleur (French)

Cognates and doublets

• color (English)

Sources

1. couleur (English) - Wiktionary
2. couleur (French) - Wiktionary
3. color (Latin) - Wiktionary
4. color (Old French) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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