Etymology

chalk

C3H4A1L1K5

Today it means: A soft, white, powdery limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO₃). Full definition →

Middle English chalk ← Old English ċealc ← Proto-West Germanic *kalk
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chalk · noun, verb1

  1. Latincalx
  2. Proto-West Germanic*kalk
  3. Old Englishċealc
  4. Middle Englishchalk
  5. English todaychalk

Inherited from Middle English chalk, chalke, from Old English ċealc, from Proto-West Germanic *kalk, borrowed from Latin calx (“limestone”), again borrowed from Ancient Greek χάλιξ (khálix, “pebble”). Doublet of calx and cauk.

Chalk · proper noun2

  1. Old English · inherited fromċealc“chalk”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromCelc
  3. English todayChalk

From early Middle English Celc, from Old English ċealc (“chalk”)

Words from the same roots

Old Englishċealc all →

ChalkleyCawkwell

Latincalx all →

calciumcausewaycalcitecalichecalcaneumcalcographycalthemitecaltropcalx

Ancient Greekχάλιξ all →

chalicosischalicothere

First known use, by meaning

  • 1086 A suburban village attached to the east side of Gravesend, Gravesham borough, Kent, England (OS grid ref TQ6773).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.