couler (French)
Where does "couler" come from?
French couler is inherited from Old French and ultimately goes back to Latin cōlāre, meaning “to filter, strain, purify.” Over time, that idea of something passing through or being poured out broadened in French into senses like “to pour,” “to flow,” and “to sink.” The deeper ancestry leads through Latin cōlō to Proto-Italic *kʷelō and Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-, a root linked to turning or moving around.
Full etymology tree
- couler (French), 'to sink'
- inherited from couler (Old French)
- inherited from colāre (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of colō'
- inherited from *kʷelō (Proto-Italic), 'to inhabit'
- inherited from *kʷélh₁-e-ti (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived from *kʷelh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to turn (end-over-end)'
- inherited from *kʷélh₁-e-ti (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited from *kʷelō (Proto-Italic), 'to inhabit'
- inherited from colāre (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of colō'
- inherited from couler (Old French)
Ancestors
- colo (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- couloir (French)
- coulant (French)
- coulant (French)
- coulant (French)
- coulée (French)
- coulée (French)
- couler de source (French)
- couler un bronze (French)
- écouler (French)
- nœud coulant (French)
- se la couler douce (French)
Updated March 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris