hoar frost

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*prustós“frost”
2. Old English · inherited fromfrost
3. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*(s)ḱeh₃-“darkness; shadow”
4. Old English · inherited fromhār“grey”
5. Middle English · inherited fromhore frost
6. English todayhoar frost

PIE word *prustós From Middle English hore frost, horfrost [and other forms], from hor (“grey; greyish-white”, adjective) (from Old English hār (“grey”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- (“darkness; shadow”)) + frost (“cold spell, freezing weather, frost; hoar-frost; rime”) (from Old English frost, forst, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *prustós (“frost”)). The English word is analysable as hoar (“greyish-white; white”, adjective) + frost.

Words from the same roots