The story
- Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰel-“to shine”
- Proto-Germanic · inherited from*blīkaną“to gleam, shine”
- Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*blīkan
- Old English · inherited fromblīcan“to shine, glitter, dazzle, sparkle, twinkle”
- Middle English · inherited frombliken
- English todayblike
From Middle English bliken, from Old English blīcan (“to shine, glitter, dazzle, sparkle, twinkle”), from Proto-West Germanic *blīkan, from Proto-Germanic *blīkaną (“to gleam, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shine”). Compare blick.
Words from the same roots
Proto-Indo-European*bʰel- all →
bloodboldflamespellballoonflavorblazeblazerblushbleachbalebellowblemishblainblitheaflameCymbelineeffulgentBelenusbieldfilicologythrapple
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.