Etymograph

English

alburnum

Alburnum comes from Latin albus ‘white’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *albʰós.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*albʰós1‘white’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alβos1‘white’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalbus2‘white’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalburnum2
  5. Englishtodayalburnum2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin albus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English alburnum

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*albʰósWiktionary, Latin albus‘white’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alβosWiktionary, Latin albus‘white’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalbusWiktionary, English alburnum‘white’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalburnumWiktionary, English alburnum
  5. EnglishtodayalburnumWiktionary, English alburnum

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *albʰós ‘white’

elf, elven, oaf, 26 more

through Proto-Italic *alβos ‘white’

albedo, albumin, albumen, 25 more

through Latin albus ‘white’

album, alba, albino, 27 more

Today it means

noun sapwood; the soft, newer wood in the trunk of a tree found between the bark and the hardened heartwood.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “alburnum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin albus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *albʰós / alburnum

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