whiten

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kwind-
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*hwītnōną“to whiten, become white”
3. Old Norse · derived fromhvítna“to whiten”
4. Middle English · inherited fromwhitenen
5. English todaywhiten

From Middle English whitenen, whitnen, from Old Norse hvítna (“to whiten”), from Proto-Germanic *hwītnōną (“to whiten, become white”), from Proto-Indo-European *kwind-, *kwint- (“bright”), equivalent to white + -en. Cognate with Icelandic hvítna (“to whiten”), Swedish vitna, hvitna (“to whiten”), Danish hvidne (“to whiten”). Compare Old English hwītian (“to whiten, become white, be white, make white”).