Etymograph

English

outremer

Outremer comes from French outremer ‘ultramarine (color)’, from Latin ultra ‘beyond’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-1‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ol-2reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūls1‘beyond’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEultra3‘beyond’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentoutremer4‘ultramarine (color)’
  6. Englishtodayoutremer4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin ultra
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin uls
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French outremer
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English outremer

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-Wiktionary, Latin ultra‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ol-Wiktionary, Latin ulsreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūlsWiktionary, Latin ultra‘beyond’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEultraWiktionary, French outremer‘beyond’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentoutremerWiktionary, English outremer‘ultramarine (color)’
  6. EnglishtodayoutremerWiktionary, English outremer

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’

as, all, old, else, adult, el, ultimate, alien, element, ellen, alternate, altitude, alumni, qualification, elder, alter, alt, altar, alpine, adolescent, abolish, alto, ou, alias, alum, alibi, alimony, alp, proletariat, retaliate, auld, parallax, altruism, ulterior, coalesce, exalt, foetal, althea, aad, eld, 64 more

through Latin ultra ‘beyond’

ultra, outrage

Today it means

noun An area beyond the sea.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “outremer”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin ultra, Latin uls, French outremer. 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 *h₂el- / outremer

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