cool (French)
Where does "cool" come from?
The French interjection 'cool' was borrowed directly from the English word used to describe something trendy or calm. Its deep history traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *gel- (meaning 'to freeze'), which evolved through Proto-Germanic and Old English as a term for a mildly low temperature. Eventually, the word's physical meaning of being chilled shifted into a figurative sense of being composed or fashionable.
Full etymology tree
- cool (French), 'cool (only its informal senses, mainly fashionable)'
- borrowed from cool (English), 'Of a mildly low temperature.'
- inherited from cool (Middle English)
- inherited from cōl (Old English), 'cool (not hot or warm)'
- inherited from *kōl(ī) (Proto-West Germanic), 'cool'
- compound of *kōlaz (Proto-Germanic)
- derived from *kalaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to be cold, to freeze'
- from root *gel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be cold, to freeze'
- derived from *kalaną (Proto-Germanic), 'to be cold, to freeze'
- compound of *-ī (Proto-West Germanic), '-ness, -th. Forms abstract nouns from adjectives which represent the state, quality or measure of the adjective.'
- inherited from *-į̄ (Proto-Germanic), '-th. Forms abstract nouns from adjectives which represent 'the state, quality or measure of' the adjective.'
- inherited from *-i-h₂ (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited from *-į̄ (Proto-Germanic), '-th. Forms abstract nouns from adjectives which represent 'the state, quality or measure of' the adjective.'
- compound of *kōlaz (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited from *kōl(ī) (Proto-West Germanic), 'cool'
- inherited from cōl (Old English), 'cool (not hot or warm)'
- inherited from cool (Middle English)
- borrowed from cool (English), 'Of a mildly low temperature.'
Ancestors
- *gel- (Proto-Indo-European)
- cool (English)
Descendants and derived words
- coolitude (French)
- cool, Raoul (French)
Updated March 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris