Etymograph

English

valour

Valour comes from Latin valor ‘value, worth’, from Proto-Italic *walēō ‘to be strong’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂wl̥h₁éh₁yeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*walēō1‘to be strong’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvaleō2‘to be worth, to be strong’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvalor3‘value, worth’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400valour3
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500valour3
  8. Englishtodayvalour3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin valeo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin valor
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English valour

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-Wiktionary, Latin valeoreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂wl̥h₁éh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin valeoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*walēōWiktionary, Latin valeo‘to be strong’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvaleōWiktionary, Latin valor‘to be worth, to be strong’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvalorWiktionary, English valour‘value, worth’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400valourWiktionary, English valour
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500valourWiktionary, English valour
  8. EnglishtodayvalourWiktionary, English valour

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-

wild, wool, velvet, validation, wield, fluff, flannel, validate, valiant, cuckold, lanolin, woll, velour, valorous, 35 more

through Proto-Italic *walēō ‘to be strong’

value, invalid, validity, ambivalent, ambivalence, valence, convalescent, convalescence, 12 more

through Latin valeō ‘to be worth, to be strong’

equivalent, valid, valuation, avail, vale, vail, 19 more

Today it means

noun Individually sustained verve or passion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “valour”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin valeo, Latin valor. 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 *h₂welh₁- / valour

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