Etymograph

English

camo

Camo comes from French camoufler ‘to camouflage’.

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentcamoufler1‘to camouflage’
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentcamouflage1
  3. English1500–presentcamouflage1
  4. Englishtodaycamo1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English camo

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentcamouflerWiktionary, English camo‘to camouflage’
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentcamouflageWiktionary, English camo
  3. English1500–presentcamouflageWiktionary, English camo
  4. EnglishtodaycamoWiktionary, English camo

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- ‘to beat, pound, grind, mill’

miller, meal, mill, mule, mold, muller, mole, mould, bonanza, mullet, melatonin, mull, malleable, maelstrom, molar, martel, amalgam, moulin, moline, malm, amyl, 39 more

through Proto-Germanic *mildijaz ‘tender, soft’

mild, 2 more

through Medieval Latin muffula

muff, 2 more

Today it means

noun A pattern on clothing consisting of irregularly shaped patches that are either greenish/brownish, brownish/whitish, or bluish/whitish, as used by ground combat forces.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “camo”. 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 / French camoufler / camo

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