couleur (Norman)
Where does "couleur" come from?
The Norman word 'couleur' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European root 'ḱel-', meaning 'to hide or conceal.' This evolved into the Latin 'color,' which originally referred to a covering or appearance, before passing into Old French and eventually into the Norman language.
Full etymology tree
- couleur (Norman), 'color'
- inherited color (Old French), 'color / colour'
- inherited color (Latin), 'color (US), colour (UK); shade, hue, tint'
- inherited colōs (Latin), 'alternative form of color'
- inherited *kelōs (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *ḱel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to cover'
- inherited *kelōs (Proto-Italic)
- inherited colōs (Latin), 'alternative form of color'
- inherited color (Latin), 'color (US), colour (UK); shade, hue, tint'
- inherited color (Old French), 'color / colour'
Ancestors
- color (Old French)
- color (Latin)
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris