Etymograph

English

oriole

Oriole comes from Old French oriol, from Latin aureolus ‘made of gold, golden’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- ‘to become light’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ews-1‘to become light’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*auzom1‘gold’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaurum1‘gold’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaureus2‘golden’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaureolus2‘made of gold, golden’diminutive of aureus
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400oriol2
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600oriol2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2019oriole2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin aureus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English oriole
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Emily Holden, Two-thirds of bird species in North America could vanish in : “Those at risk include the wood thrush, a well-known…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ews-Wiktionary, Latin aureus‘to become light’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*auzomWiktionary, Latin aureus‘gold’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaurumWiktionary, Latin aureus‘gold’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaureusWiktionary, English oriole‘golden’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaureolusWiktionary, English oriole‘made of gold, golden’diminutive of aureus
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400oriolWiktionary, English oriole
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600oriolWiktionary, English oriole
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2019orioleWiktionary, English oriole. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Emily Holden, Two-thirds of bird species in North America could vanish in : “Those at risk include the wood thrush, a well-known…”

The story

First use appears c. 1776 in the writings of Thomas Pennant.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- ‘to become light’

air, east, plane, exhaust, aerial, aura, aurora, malaria, aero, aria, austral, 62 more

through Latin aurum ‘gold’

or, aurum, 19 more

through Latin aureus ‘golden’

aureus, aurelia, 6 more

through Old French oriol

oriel

Today it means

noun Any of various colourful passerine birds, New World orioles of the genus Icterus (family Icteridae) and Old World orioles of the family Oriolidae.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “oriole”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin aureus. 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 *h₂ews- / oriole

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