Etymograph

English

cold

Cold comes from Anglian Old English cald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz, participle of *kalaną ‘to be cold’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-1‘to be cold, to freeze’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kalaną1‘to be cold, to freeze’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kaldaz1‘cold’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kald1reconstructed
  5. Anglian Old Englishmoderncald1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cold1‘cold’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1610–1611cold1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English cold
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Winters Tale: “Smell this business with a sense as cold /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-Wiktionary, English cold‘to be cold, to freeze’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kalanąWiktionary, English cold‘to be cold, to freeze’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kaldazWiktionary, English cold‘cold’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kaldWiktionary, English coldreconstructed
  5. Anglian Old EnglishmoderncaldWiktionary, English cold
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coldWiktionary, English cold‘cold’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1610–1611coldWiktionary, English cold. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Winters Tale: “Smell this business with a sense as cold /…”

The story

The West Saxon form, ċeald (‘cold’), survived as early Middle English cheald, cheld, or chald. Both descended from Proto-West Germanic *kald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz (‘cold’), a participle form of *kalaną (‘to be cold, to freeze’), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (‘to be cold, to freeze’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to be cold, to freeze’

children, clean, child, cloud, globe, chill, cluster, gel, jelly, clout, clot, colt, 57 more

through Middle English cold ‘Cold, cool’

1 more

Another origin of cold

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kaldą‘coldness’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kald‘cold, coldness’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150cald‘cold, coldness’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cold‘Cold, cool’
  6. Englishtodaycold

Another origin of cold

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150calde‘coldly’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500colde
  3. Englishtodaycold

Today it means

adj Having a low temperature.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cold”. 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 *gel- / cold

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