Etymograph

English

choler

Choler comes from Old French colere ‘bile, anger’, from Latin cholera ‘bilious disease’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- ‘green, yellow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰelh₃-1‘green, yellow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰolh₃-éh₂1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʰolā́1‘gall, bile’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχολή2kholḗ‘bile’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcholera2‘bilious disease’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400colere2‘bile, anger’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coler2‘yellow bile’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588choler2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χολή
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English choler
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Threatned with frowning wrath and iealouſie, Surpriz’d with feare…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰelh₃-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χολή‘green, yellow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰolh₃-éh₂Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χολήreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʰolā́Wiktionary, Ancient Greek χολή‘gall, bile’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEχολήWiktionary, English cholerkholḗ‘bile’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcholeraWiktionary, English choler‘bilious disease’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400colereWiktionary, English choler‘bile, anger’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500colerWiktionary, English choler‘yellow bile’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588cholerWiktionary, English choler. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Threatned with frowning wrath and iealouſie, Surpriz’d with feare…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- ‘green, yellow’

gold, fell, yellow, gall, chlorine, felon, gullible, yolk, glib, gild, zloty, chlorella, 27 more

through Ancient Greek χολή ‘bile’

choline, 3 more

through Middle English coler ‘yellow bile’

collar

Today it means

noun Yellow bile.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “choler”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek χολή. 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 *ǵʰelh₃- / choler

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