Introduction

Indo-European seems to have had two words for "blood" *krewh₂-: "spilled blood, blood outside the body" (with extended meanings of bloodshed and cruelty) contrasts to *h₁ésh₂r̥: "flowing blood, living blood" (with extended meanings of family).

The root *krews- is probably a derived root, and means "to harden, to coagulate, to crust over"—i.e. what blood does outside the body. The meaning was then extended to water freezing and other similar processes.

Teaser

raw, ecru, cruel, crystal, crust, custard, crustacean, cryo-

Full Text

• Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- spilled blood, blood outside the body

  • Proto-Indo-European *kréwh₂s blood

    • Balto-Slavic *krū́ˀs

      • Slavic *kry̑ blood oblique stem *krъ̏v-

        • East Slavic крꙑ kry blood

          • Russian кровь krovʹ blood
          • Ukrainian кров krov blood
        • South Slavic

          • Bulgarian кръв krǎv blood
          • Old Church Slavonic крꙑ kry blood
          • Serbo-Croatian кр̑в kȓv blood, gore, family, descent
        • West Slavic

          • Czech krev blood
          • Polish krew blood
    • Hellenic *kréwas

      • Classical Greek κρέας kréas flesh, meat, carcass

        • Classical Greek κρεάγρα kreágrā meat-hook lit. "meat-catching"
        • Classical Greek πάγκρεας pánkreas pancreas lit. "all-meat"

          • Greek πάγκρεας págkreas pancreas
          • Latin pancreas

            • English pancreas
    • Indo-Iranian *krawíš

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit 𑀓𑁆𑀭𑀯𑀺𑀲𑁆 kravís raw flesh, carrion
    • Italic *kruwōs

      • Latin cruor blood, gore, bloodshed, murder

        • Latin cruentō I make bloody, I stain with blood

          • Eastern Romance

            • Romanian crunta

              • Romanian încrunta to blush, to frown, to scowl "to en-bloody, to stain with blood from the inside"
          • Western Romance

            • Spanish cruentar
          • Latin cruentus bloody, blood-stained, cruel, crimson

            • Central Romance

              • Italian cruento bloody, gory
            • Eastern Romance

              • Romanian crunt cruel, violent, terrible
  • Proto-Indo-European *krowhyós bloody

    • Proto-Indo-European *krowhyóm bloody thing, raw flesh neuter substantive
    • Balto-Slavic *krauja blood

      • East Baltic

        • Lithuanian kraũjas blood
      • West Baltic

        • Old Prussian crauyo blood
    • Germanic *hraiwą corpse, carcass, body metathesis

      • East Germanic

        • Gothic *hraiwa

          • Gothic 𐌷𐍂𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌳𐌿𐌱𐍉 hraiwadūbō turtledove lit. "corpse-dove"
      • North Germanic

        • Old Norse hræ corpse, carrion, wreck

          • Icelandic hræ carcass, worn out machine

            • Icelandic hrææta scavenger, corpse-eater
      • West Germanic

        • Old English hrǣw corpse, carrion, body (alive or dead)

          • Old English hrāfyl slaughter
        • Frankish

          • Dutch reeuw corpse
    • Indo-Iranian *krawyám

      • Indo-Aryan

        • Sanskrit 𑀓𑁆𑀭𑀯𑁆𑀬 kravyá raw flesh, carrion
  • Proto-Indo-European *krowh₂wós bloody
  • Celtic *krowos

    • Brythonic *krow

      • Welsh crau blood, gore, carnage

        • Welsh creulon bloody, cruel, fierce, sudden, cruel person, tyrant
    • Old Irish crú blood

      • Irish cró blood
    • Germanic *hrawaz

      • North Germanic

        • Old Norse hrár raw, fresh, sappy

          • Danish rå raw, crude, rough
          • Icelandic hrár
      • West Germanic *hrau

        • Old English hrēaw raw

          • English raw
        • Frankish *rao

          • Dutch rauw raw, hard, cruel
        • Old High German rō

          • German roh raw, crude, rude
          • Yiddish רוי roy raw
      • Finnic *raaka

        • Finnish raaka raw, crude
  • Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂odʰos bloody

    • Celtic *kroudis

      • Old Irish crúaid

        • Irish crua severe, harsh, difficult, hard, hardness

          • Irish cruach steel
    • Italic *krowoðos

      • Latin crūdus raw, bloody, bleeding, unprepared, rough, cruel, crude

        • Central Romance

          • Italian crudo raw, hard, harsh
        • Eastern Romance

          • Romanian crud raw, unripe, cruel
        • Western Romance

          • French cru raw

            • French écru raw, unprocessed, unbleached

              • English ecru
            • Spanish crudo raw, crude, harsh
        • English crude
        • Latin crūdēlis unfeeling, rude, cruel
        • Central Romance

          • Italian crudele cruel
        • Western Romance

          • French cruel

            • English cruel
          • Spanish cruel cruel
        • Latin crūditās

          • Central Romance

            • Italian crudità rawness, coarseness, crudités
          • Western Romance

            • French crudité rawness

              • French crudités

                • English crudités
    • Proto-Indo-European *krews- to harden, to freeze, to coagulate

      • Proto-Indo-European *krustós hardened, frozen adjective

        • Hellenic *krustós

          • Classical Greek κρύσταλλος krústallos ice, rock crystal ^[1]

            • Greek κρύσταλλο krýstallo crystal, ice
            • Latin crystallus

              • Western Romance

                • French cristal crystal
                • Spanish cristal crystal, glass, window pane
              • Old English cristalla

                • English crystal
              • Old High German cristalla

                • German Kristall crystal, crystal glass

                  • Serbo-Croatian крѝста̄л krìstāl crystal
                  • German Kristallnacht

                    • English Kristallnacht
        • Indo-Iranian

          • Iranian

            • Avestan 𐬑𐬭𐬎𐬰𐬛𐬭𐬀 xruzdra hard
        • Italic

          • Latin crusta hard outer surface: rind, bark, shell, crust, scab

            • Central Romance

              • Italian crosta crust, scab, rind

                • Italian crostino crouton, canapé diminutive

                  • English crostini
            • Eastern Romance

              • Romanian crustă crust
            • Western Romance

              • Old French cruste

                • French croûte crust, scab

                  • French croûton (bread) heel, crouton

                    • English crouton
                • English crust
                • French croustade

                  • English custard
              • Spanish costra crust, scab, snot
            • New Latin Crustacea shelled

              • English crustacean
      • Proto-Indo-European *kruswós hardened, frozen adjective

        • Balto-Slavic

          • Latvian kruvesis frozen ground
        • Hellenic

          • Classical Greek κρῠ́ος krúos cold, ice, frost ^[1]

            • English cryo-
      • Proto-Indo-European *krusmós

        • Hellenic

          • Classical Greek κρυμός krumós icy cold, frost ^[1]
      • Proto-Indo-European *krus(t)émn̥

        • Tocharian

          • Arshian krośśäṃ cold
          • Kushean krośce cold
      • Proto-Indo-European *kruseh₂

        • Balto-Slavic

          • Lithuanian krušà icefloe
          • Slavic

            • East Slavic

              • Ukrainian кри́га krýha ice
        • Germanic *hrusa ground, crust, ice

          • West Germanic

            • Old English hruse earth, ground
            • Old High German rosa crust, ice

Visual

Collected English words

pancreas, raw, ecru, crude, cruel, crudités, crystal, Kristallnacht, crostini, crouton, crust, custard, crustacean, cryo-

Footnotes

1. ^

   All of the Greek forms connected to *krews- are problematic. κρυμός krumós and κρῠ́ος krúos both share an unexplained loss of an 's'. κρύσταλλος krústallos has the -αλλο- -allo- suffix, which is generally considered to mark a word borrowed from (non-Hellenic) Pre-Greek. And yet, the connection to the rest of the Indo-European words is too strong to ignore.