white

white
\ \ [OE] White goes back ultimately to Indo- European *kwitnos or *kwidnos, which was formed from the same base as produced Sanskrit sveta- ‘white’ and Russian svetlight’. It passed into prehistoric Germanic as *khwītaz, which has since evolved into German weiss, Swedish vit, Danish hvid, and English white (Dutch wit comes from a variant of the same Germanic source). Wheat is etymologically the ‘white’ grain.
\ \ Cf.WHEAT, WHITSUN

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • White — (hw[imac]t), a. [Compar. {Whiter} (hw[imac]t [ e]r); superl. {Whitest}.] [OE. whit, AS. hw[imac]t; akin to OFries. and OS. hw[=i]t, D. wit, G. weiss, OHG. w[=i]z, hw[=i]z, Icel. hv[=i]tr, Sw. hvit, Dan. hvid, Goth. hweits, Lith. szveisti, to make …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • white — [hwīt, wīt] adj. whiter, whitest [ME hwit < OE, akin to Ger weiss, ON hvitr, MDu wit < IE * kweid , to gleam, bright, white > WHEAT, OSlav švěšta, a light, candle] 1. having the color of pure snow or milk; of the color of radiated,… …   English World dictionary

  • White — White, n. [1913 Webster] 1. The color of pure snow; one of the natural colors of bodies, yet not strictly a color, but a composition of all colors; the opposite of black; whiteness. See the Note under {Color}, n., 1. [1913 Webster] Finely attired …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • White- — (бело ), a prefix used by Bolsheviks to designate their real and alleged enemies of all sorts, by analogy with the White Army.*White Guardist ( белогвардеец ): a member of the White Guard . The members of the White movement never applied the term …   Wikipedia

  • White — White, José Blanco White, Patrick * * * (as used in expressions) Bourke White, Margaret Mary White White Horse, valle de White Mountains White Sands National Monument White, E(lwyn) B(rooks) White, James (Springer) y Ellen (Gould) White, John …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • WHITE (D.) — Dick WHITE 1906 1993 Figure légendaire des services de contre espionnage britanniques certains affirment que le romancier Ian Fleming s’en serait inspiré pour créer le personnage de James Bond , sir Dick White naît en Angleterre, dans le Kent, le …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • white — O.E. hwit, from P.Gmc. *khwitaz (Cf. O.S., O.Fris. hwit, O.N. hvitr, Du. wit, O.H.G. hwiz, Ger. weiß, Goth. hveits), from PIE *kwintos/*kwindos bright (Cf. Skt. svetah white; O.C.S. sviteti to shin …   Etymology dictionary

  • White — bezeichnet: einen Familiennamen, siehe White (Familienname) White Airways, eine portugiesische Charterfluggesellschaft White Hand Gang, irische Bande in Brooklyn von etwa 1900–1925 White Motor Company, US Hersteller von LKW, Automobilen,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • WHITE (P.) — WHITE PATRICK (1912 1990) Prix Nobel de littérature en 1973, Patrick White est sans doute l’écrivain australien le plus connu. Issu d’une famille «patricienne» (son père était grand propriétaire terrien), il appartient à cette classe sociale qui… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • white — ► ADJECTIVE 1) of the colour of milk or fresh snow, due to the reflection of all visible rays of light. 2) very pale. 3) relating to a human group having light coloured skin, especially of European ancestry. 4) morally or spiritually pure. 5)… …   English terms dictionary

  • WHITE (L. A.) — WHITE LESLIE ALVIN (1900 1975) Le plus remarquable représentant de l’école néo évolutionniste américaine. L’anthropologue Leslie A. White suivit d’abord un itinéraire intellectuel complexe qui lui donna une formation largement encyclopédique;… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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