blé (French)
Where does "blé" come from?
The French noun 'blé', meaning wheat or cash, is inherited through Middle French 'blé'[1] and Old French 'blet'[1][2] from Early Medieval Latin 'blādum'[1][2], which was first documented in the late seventh century[3]. The Latin term was borrowed from Frankish '*blād', meaning 'field produce'[1][3]. This Frankish form traces back to Proto-Germanic '*blēduz', meaning 'flower, leaf'[1][3], which originates from the Proto-Indo-European root '*bʰleh₃-', meaning 'to bloom, blossom'[1][3].
Open questions
- The earliest documentation of the intermediate Latin form 'bladum' is noted in the late seventh century. [3]
Full etymology tree
- blé (French), 'wheat, corn'
- inherited blé (Middle French)
- inherited blet (Old French), 'wheat, corn'
- inherited bladum (Latin), 'kind of grain, wheat'
- borrowed *blad (Proto-West Germanic), 'leaf'
- inherited *blēduz (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *bʰleh₃- (Proto-Indo-European), 'bloom, flower'
- inherited *blēduz (Proto-Germanic)
- borrowed *blad (Proto-West Germanic), 'leaf'
- inherited bladum (Latin), 'kind of grain, wheat'
- inherited blet (Old French), 'wheat, corn'
- inherited blé (Middle French)
Ancestors
- blet (Old French)
- bladum (Latin)
- *bʰleh₃- (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- blat (Old High German)
Descendants and derived words
- blé d'Inde (French)
- blé noir (French)
- caille des blés (French)
- fauché comme les blés (French)
Sources
- blé (French) - Wiktionary
- blet (Old French) - Wiktionary
- bladum (Latin) - Wiktionary
- blad (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris