bleak

Where does the word "bleak" come from? It comes from Old Norse bleikr, passing through Middle English before entering English (1530s).

Bleak’s story begins in Old Norse: bleikr meant “pale.” Pale, whitish; Old English 'blāc' was a cousin. By 1300s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as bleik. Pale, wan. It reached English by 1530s as bleak. Came to mean bare and windswept, then cheerless; Dickens's 'Bleak House' appeared in 1852. Today, bleak means bare and exposed; cheerless.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval bleikr "pale", pale, whitish; Old English 'blāc' was a cousin.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · 1300s bleik "pale", pale, wan.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1530s bleak "desolate", came to mean bare and windswept, then cheerless; Dickens's 'Bleak House' appeared in 1852.