An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/blau

by Friedrich Kluge

blau, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. blâ (Gen. blâwes), OHG. blâo, ‘blue’; comp. Du. blaauw, AS. blâw, and with a suffix blœ̂wen; E. blue (from MidE. blew) is borrowed from Fr. bleu, which, with its Rom. cognates (Ital. biavo, from *blawo), is of Germ. origin. The primit. cognate Lat. flâvus, ‘flaxen, yellow,’ has, like so many names of colours, changed its meaning compared with the Germ. word.