white
Of the colour of milk or fresh snow; the lightest colour, the opposite of black.
Etymology
From Old English hwīt (white, bright), from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from PIE *ḱweyd- (to shine, to be white, bright). The same root gave Sanskrit śveta (white) and Old Church Slavonic světŭ (light). The PIE palatal *ḱ became *hw in Germanic (later wh in English), and the initial h in hwīt was eventually dropped in standard pronunciation, though spelling preserves it.
The Journey: *ḱweyd- → white
*ḱweyd-
*hwītaz
hwīt
white
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *ḱweyd-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| German | weiß — white |
| Gothic | hweits — white |
| Sanskrit | śveta — white |
| Old Norse | hvítr — white |
| Old Church Slavonic | světŭ — light |
Did You Know?
Wheat may also come from the same root — it was 'the white grain,' distinguished from darker cereals like rye and barley. So white bread really is etymologically redundant: wheat-bread is already 'white-grain bread.'
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱweyd-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.