blue

Where does the word "blue" come from? It comes from Frankish blao, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Blue’s story begins in Frankish: blao meant “shining, blue.” A Frankish colour word, related to Old Norse 'blár'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as bleu. French re-lent it to English, reinforcing an Old English cognate. It reached English by 1300s as blue. 'feeling blue' dates from the 1700s. Today, blue means the colour of a clear sky.

1. Stage 1 · Frankish · ancient blao "shining, blue", a Frankish colour word, related to Old Norse 'blár'.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval bleu "blue", French re-lent it to English, reinforcing an Old English cognate.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s blue "blue", 'feeling blue' dates from the 1700s.