English
whiteness
Whiteness comes from Old English hwīt ‘white’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱweytōr.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱweytōr1reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwītaz2‘white’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hwīt2‘white’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hwīt3‘white’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hwītnes4
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500whitenesse4
- Englishearliest quotation 1666whiteness4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, which cites Kroonen, Kluge
- 2 Wiktionary, Old English hwit
- 3 Wiktionary, Old English hwitnes
- 4 Wiktionary, English whiteness
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1666, Robert Boyle: “[Snow] may […] exchange its whiteness for yellowness, without…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱweytōrWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, which cites Kroonen, Klugereconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hwītazWiktionary, Old English hwit‘white’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hwītWiktionary, Old English hwit‘white’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hwītWiktionary, Old English hwitnes‘white’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hwītnesWiktionary, English whiteness
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500whitenesseWiktionary, English whiteness
- Englishearliest quotation 1666whitenessWiktionary, English whiteness. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1666, Robert Boyle: “[Snow] may […] exchange its whiteness for yellowness, without…”
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *hwītaz ‘white’
Today it means
noun The state or quality of being white (all senses).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “whiteness”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, Old English hwit, Old English hwitnes. 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 *ḱweytōr / whiteness