English
vermeille
Vermeille comes from French vermeil ‘bright red, vermilion’, from Latin vermiculus ‘little worm’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to turn, to bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-1‘to turn, to bend’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥mis2‘worm’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wormis2‘worm’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvermis3‘worm’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvermiculus4‘little worm’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*vermiclus5reconstructedsyncopated form of vermiculus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400vermeil4‘vermillion’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600vermeil4‘vermillion’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentvermeil6as vermeille‘bright red, vermilion’
- Englishtodayvermeille6
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin vermis
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin vermiculus
- 4 Wiktionary, French vermeil
- 5 Wiktionary, Old French vermeil
- 6 Wiktionary, English vermeille
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis‘to turn, to bend’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wr̥misWiktionary, Latin vermis‘worm’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wormisWiktionary, Latin vermis‘worm’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvermisWiktionary, Latin vermiculus‘worm’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvermiculusWiktionary, French vermeil‘little worm’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*vermiclusWiktionary, Old French vermeilreconstructedsyncopated form of vermiculus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400vermeilWiktionary, French vermeil‘vermillion’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600vermeilWiktionary, French vermeil‘vermillion’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentvermeilWiktionary, English vermeilleas vermeille‘bright red, vermilion’
- EnglishtodayvermeilleWiktionary, English vermeille
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to turn, to bend’
wear, guard, ward, regard, con, garage, warn, beware, garrison, optic, ware, panorama, weir, verge, reverence, wry, revere, prosaic, guaranty, diorama, milliner, 68 more
through Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis ‘worm’
through Latin vermis ‘worm’
vermin, varmint, vermicelli, 13 more
through Latin vermiculus ‘little worm’
through Old French vermeil ‘vermillion’
Today it means
noun A brownish-red variety of almandine garnet.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “vermeille”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis, Latin vermis, Latin vermiculus, French vermeil, Old French vermeil. 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 *wer- / vermeille