Etymograph

English

bloom

Bloom comes from Middle English blome ‘a blossom or bloom’, from Old Norse blóm ‘flower’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-1‘to bloom, to flower’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōaną2‘to bloom’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōmô3‘flower’reconstructed
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350blóm3‘flower’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blome3‘a blossom or bloom’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1667bloom3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *blōaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *blōmô
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English bloom
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book III: “sight of vernal bloom”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *blōaną‘to bloom, to flower’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōanąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *blōmô‘to bloom’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōmôWiktionary, English bloom‘flower’reconstructed
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350blómWiktionary, English bloom‘flower’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blomeWiktionary, English bloom‘a blossom or bloom’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1667bloomWiktionary, English bloom. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book III: “sight of vernal bloom”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- ‘to bloom, to flower’

full, blood, flower, fool, blade, bless, foil, floral, bleed, flora, folly, flourish, folio, ferret, fleur, blossom, florist, folic, belladonna, flor, exfoliate, 55 more

through Proto-Germanic *blōaną ‘to bloom’

blow, 1 more

Another origin of bloom

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-‘bloom, flower’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bloom‘a blossom’
  3. Englishtodaybloom

Another origin of bloom

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₃-‘to bloom, to flower’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōaną‘to bloom’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blōmô‘flower’uncertain
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blōmōuncertain
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150blōma‘lump of metal’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blome‘a lump of metal’
  7. Englishtodaybloom

Today it means

noun A blossom; the flower of a plant; an expanded bud.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bloom”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *blōaną, Proto-Germanic *blōmô. 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 *bʰleh₃- / bloom

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