From sophisticated elegance to evil incarnate, few colors conjure up such strong images as black. The origin of the word black stretches back to a group of tribes known as the Proto-Indo-Europeans. According to etymologists, these ancient groups likely used the rather un-elegant sounding word bhleg- to mean burn or gleam.
Etymology Of Black
As cultures evolved, bhleg- evolved as well. While it retained its original meaning, the word became phlegein in Greek and flagrare in Latin. However, the word started to take the road to its modern form through the English mother tongue, Proto-Germanic. These tribes, who inhabited Europe during the first millennium BCE, used the term blak-.
Old English speakers, the Anglo-Saxons, transformed the word into blaec and began to associate it directly with the color. At the same time, they were also using the word blac to mean white or bright. The words were so similar that translators are sometimes left scratching their heads as they try to determine whether the writer was describing something that was black or white.
Origin Of The Word Black Included Use A Verb And Noun, Too
Black was also used as a verb. For example, one 16th century text reads, “The paper will be blacked by smoke.” Around this time, the English people began to use it as a noun to describe professional mourners or a person with dark skin.
More What's Behind the Color Name
Feature Image Credit: Photo by Banter Snaps on Unsplash
In the article above, it is claimed that the word black was used to describe professional mourners. Then the English used it to describe the darker skinned people. How sick is that association. I came across this article because I am searching for the root of African blackness in order to explain to our younger people who feel the stigma of this label.
A little six year old girl asked me this question. “Grandma why are we black?” I could see the pain on her face and the way she spoke raised concerns. I asked myself how many other children go through such traumatic experiences. The results shocked me.
I asked her why she wanted to know. She told me that she hated being black. I tried to establish why she hated being black. She said that being black makes her feel less than other children at school. This is a child who was never told that she was black at home in herbsix years of life but came accross it in an institution of learning.
As an African originating from the continent, i have lived experience of imperialism and colonialism. Africans were called black and much worse by the settler colonialists. But we knew that we are Nsundu, not whatever we were called.
Hearing this 6 year old little girl telling me something like this in 2022 broke my heart.
People of African heritage have diverse shades of Nsundu. Nsundu means brown by the way. This is our skin complexion in Sindebele and Zulu. Calling us black was part of the imperialist and colonial denigratiin of the other. This was the worst form of corruption of facts and an enduring injustice that needs to be addressed. Yet this is continuing consequence of that injustice is seen as normal to most people.
I am searching where, when and why the English, or whoever, felt it was right to associate a people’s skin shade with mourners’ colours.
Africans are not black. I think the time has come for this to change. Peace and respect belongs to us all. Let us change our world one.concept at a time. United we stand. Our unity can create the change we all crave for regardless of the historical racial categories assigned to us. We are all one race, the human race.
Do you have sources for this information? It’s all correct, as far as I know. I’m just curious about where you got the knowledge from.
I have an extensive library of color books (see books about color for the list) and most of this information came from those. I did have a very fastidious intern who confirmed the information for this and many other articles. She made a list of references but when she left we mistakenly deleted the files when setting up the next intern. I could probably figure it out again but just have never taken the time. Sorry to not be able to be more specific but am confident the information is correct.
Wow, that’s awesome, thanks for sharing and researching the origins of the word black. I’ve always wondered about it.
Thanks for your awesome comment, Gibby. You made my day that much more sensational!