blue
/bluː/
adjective
Origin
Old French
bleu — blue, pale, or discolored
Overview
Meaning Now
- of a color intermediate between green and violet, as of the sky or sea on a clear day
- feeling depressed or melancholy
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
bleu
Earliest period
12th century
Journey
The concept of 'blue' as a distinct primary color developed relatively late in many languages. In Old English, terms related to blue often overlapped with green or dark colors (such as 'hǣwen' or 'blǣwen'), and the modern word replaced earlier native Germanic terms after the Norman Conquest.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*bhlē-waz
“shining, yellow, or blue”
Inherited from PIE root *bhel- (to shine)
- Old French
bleu
“blue color”
Derived from the Frankish *blao
- Middle English
blew
“blue color”
Adopted into Middle English from Old French
Connections
Word parts
blue
root
color of the sky
Related across languages
German
blau
blue
Dutch
blauw
blue
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Related to blue
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.