Proto-Indo-European Roots

Proto-Indo-European Roots

Root/Stem:	*bhel-

Meanings:	white, clear; to shine

Cognates:	Greek phalios (white) - from bhal-jo- (sometimes is believed to be borrowed from Pelasgian balios, related to Thracian)
	Latin *flagrare* (to shine); West Popular Latin *blancus* (white) - may be from Celtic; > Sardinian *biancu, French blanc* (white), *baille* (paleness), Occitan *blanc, Spanish blanco, Catalan blanch, Italian bianco, Portuguese branco*
	Common Celtic belo- (white, shining), > Gaulish Belenos* (Apollo), *Belisama* - two gods' names from this stem; Old Irish *beltene* - May, May-day (from belo-tine - white fire), Irish bealtaine, Scottish bealtuinn;* Old Irish *oíbell* (flame); Welsh *bal* (white-faced)
	Old Norse *bál* (fire); Gothic *bala* (paleness), Old Swedish *blikan* (to shine), Old English *bli'can; Old High German bilisa* (henbane); German *erbleichen* (to shine), English *blaze, bleach, blond, bald, bale, black, Danish ba"ldet* (naked, bare)
	Iranian (not found)
	Sanskrit *bhála-* (a shine)
	Armenian *bal* (paleness)
	Thracian *balios* (white), Albanian *balle"* (a forehead)
	Common Baltic balo- (white, pale) > Lithuanian balas, baltas* (white), Latvian *bals* (pale), *balts* (white), Sudovian *bilsas* (white), Old Prussian *ballo* (a forehead)
	Common Slavic be'lo- (white) > Ukrainian biliy, Bulgarian bial, Macedonian bel,* Serbo-Croatian *bio* (masc.), *bijela* (fem.), Slovene *bel, Sorbian bely, Slovak biely, Czech bi'ly', Polish bialy, Russian bely* (white), *bledny* (pale)

Notes:	The stem must have denoted a verb in Proto-Indo-European meaning "to be white", but soon it turned into an adjective in many languages. Derivatives are a long list, and additional meanings were "flame", "fire", "pale", "bright", and even some strage ones such as English *black. The influence of Celtic languages on Popular Latin generated Romance blancus* and its descendants.