Albus
/ˈæl.bʊs/noun
A Latin adjective meaning “white” or “bright.”
Did you know?Latin *albus* is the source of words tied to whiteness and brightness, and it survives in modern English through learned borrowings like *alb* and *albedo*—the alchemical term for the whitening stage.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂elbʰ-
“To be white or bright”
Latin
Latin
albus
“White, bright, or shining white”
Late Latin
Latin
albus
“White vestment or white garment”
Old French
Old French
albe
“A white liturgical robe”
Middle English
English
alb
“A white ecclesiastical vestment”
Modern English
English
albedo
“The whiteness or reflective power of a surface; in alchemy, the whitening stage”