*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of colly

From Middle English coly, from Old English *coliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *kolig, equivalent to coal + -y. Doublet of coaly.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adj

Black as coal.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English coly, from Old English *coliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *kolig, equivalent to coal + -y. Doublet of coaly.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentioncolyenm
  • Inherited-form mention*coliġang
  • Inherited-form mention*koliggmw-pro
  • Doublet mentioncoalyen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "coly"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English coly"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*coliġ"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *coliġ"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kolig"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kolig"
    },
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "coal",
        "3": "-y",
        "id2": "adjectival"
      },
      "expansion": "coal + -y"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "coaly"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of coaly"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "coly",
      "coly#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*coliġ",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/colig"
    ],
    [
      "*kolig",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kolig"
    ],
    [
      "coal",
      "coal#English"
    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English:_adjectival"
    ],
    [
      "coaly",
      "coaly#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Black as coal."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "recordId": "b7e67702b4f3c3f0a8ddc154340bdcc5bc1d998ae7f23777bc301fd99ff60553",
      "rawRecordSha256": "706cdd4bad268940bf004a21b0a8471159a8508f4fedfd67a18d3fde686c7c23",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 416223
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To make black, as with coal.

noun

Soot. · A blackbird · Alternative spelling of collie.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English *colien, variant of *colwen (attested in Middle English colwed and colwinge), from Old English *colgian. More at collow.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "*colien"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English *colien"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "colwed"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English colwed"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*colgian"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *colgian"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*colien",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/colien"
    ],
    [
      "*colwen",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/colwen"
    ],
    [
      "colwed",
      "colwed#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "colwinge",
      "colwinge#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*colgian",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/colgian"
    ],
    [
      "collow",
      "collow#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make black, as with coal."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "936e20e8af59bc5212de9b517d8f59ebe3b9cb2705f726a6fcb2c09379d707f5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0456c87df1f215644e05039557a73c5430319fcb6b1562a9b380fdbe7d01652f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 416224
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Soot.",
        "A blackbird",
        "Alternative spelling of collie."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "dated"
      ],
      "recordId": "c4ee3df321d8828962192c7b5fe0beab64e1517189ab149441f92727dabe71e9",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e73942ee265fa7d7ec1da92da84d77b8049cc6307319011034149015187b43ee",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 416225
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for colly →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Y29sbHk