couleur (French)
Where does "couleur" come from?
The French word 'couleur' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European verb meaning 'to hide or conceal,' suggesting an early focus on the way a covering or surface hides an object. It evolved through the Latin 'color,' which originally referred to a hue or shade, before being passed down through Old and Middle French. Over the centuries, the word refined its meaning into the modern sense of visual pigment and variety we use today.
Full etymology tree
- couleur (French), 'color/colour'
- inherited couleur (Middle French)
- inherited color (Old French), 'color / colour'
- inherited colorem (Latin), 'accusative singular of color and colōs'
- derived color (Latin), 'color (US), colour (UK); shade, hue, tint'
- derived colos (Latin), 'alternative form of color'
- inherited *kelōs (Proto-Italic)
- derived *ḱel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to cover'
- inherited *kelōs (Proto-Italic)
- derived colos (Latin), 'alternative form of color'
- derived color (Latin), 'color (US), colour (UK); shade, hue, tint'
- inherited colorem (Latin), 'accusative singular of color and colōs'
- inherited color (Old French), 'color / colour'
- inherited couleur (Middle French)
Direct ancestors
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris