Vitrum
/ˈwi.trum/noun
Latin for glass; the word also gave rise to English terms for glassy blue and green colors.
Did you know?Vitrum became so tied to glass and glassy color that its descendants helped shape words for blue-green hues in several European languages.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ueh₂i- / *weid-
“A debated prehistory; the exact root of Latin vitrum is uncertain, but scholarship connects it to ancient words for a glassy or shining substance rather than a secure PIE form.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vitrum
“Glass; also the woad plant, used for blue dye, and by extension a blue-green color.”
Late Latin
Latin
vitreus
“Of glass; glassy, shining, transparent.”
Old French
Old French
veire / verre
“Glass.”
Middle English
English
vitrin / vitreous
“Made of or like glass; later learned scientific and literary uses.”
Modern English
English
vitreous
“Glass-like, lustrous, or transparent.”