From Proto Indo European bhlewas, meaning “light colored”, applicable to anything from yellow to light gray to pale blue. In Proto Germanic this became blæwaz, and descended into Frankish as blao and Old French as bleu; this was borrowed as bleu or blwe in Middle English (when spelling was a creative art). Old English already had a perfectly good word for blue — blaw – but the French term was preferred. It’s uncertain exactly when the word changed from meaning “light colored” to “blue”, but color words tend to be slippery in that way — in Scandinavian languages, for example, it came to mean a deep black, while in Middle High German it meant “yellow”.

Energetically, blue is much like a fountain of water — a burst of liquid energy, flowing, fast-moving. Compare it to its homophone blew, and remember the music named after it, the Blues – these words have the same energy.

Is there anyone who doesn’t know that Thursday is Thor’s Day?

Thursday was named after the Norse thunderer because, in the minds of the Anglo-Saxons and many other learned people of the late first millennium, Thor was equated with Jupiter, the Roman thunderer. The Roman name for Thursday was Jovis deis, “Day of Jupiter”, so when the Anglo-Saxons adopted the Roman (and Christian) seven-day week, Þurresdæg (Thor’s Day) was a logical choice — even though Thor and Jupiter have almost nothing in common beyond their knack for lightning.

Thor’s name may originally have been imitative of thunder (originally Proto-Germanic thunraz), and energetically it indicates a rounded, earthy strength surging along a difficult path. The “Thur” in Thursday is more relaxed, roomy, and expansive, but still powerfully channeled.

Here in Massachusetts the leaves are starting to turn amazing colors… Our second spring, my favorite season.

Tree is from Proto Indo European deru or doru, which meant “oak tree”. The oak tree was so central and sacred to the ancient Indo Europeans that in many of the daughter languages, including English, the word for “oak” was simply extended to mean all trees everywhere. It’s also the root of true, truce, betroth, truth, trust, dryad, rhododendron, and of course druid. The oak tree itself may have been too holy to have its name spoken; in any case, its name oak has an unknown origin — see oak.

Meanwhile, deru/doru became trewan in Proto Indo European, and treo in Old English; it was simplified to tree in Modern English.

The word tree seems to be concerned with growth and endurance: powerful energy moving along a path, with stamina and determination.

Thanks to Nio for suggesting this word of the day!