*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of albedo

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *albʰós Proto-Italic *alβos Latin alb(us) Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder. Latin -ēdō Latin albēdōbor. English albedo Borrowed from Latin albēdō (“whiteness”).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The fraction of incident light or radiation reflected by a surface or body, commonly expressed as a percentage. · The whitish inner portion of the rind of citrus fruits that is a source of pectin, commonly referred to as the pith. · One of the four major stages of the magnum opus, involving purification of the prima materia.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *albʰós Proto-Italic *alβos Latin alb(us) Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder. Latin -ēdō Latin albēdōbor. English albedo Borrowed from Latin albēdō (“whiteness”).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:albēdō<t:whiteness>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *albʰós\nProto-Italic *alβos\nLatin alb(us)\nProto-Indo-European *-Hōder.\nLatin -ēdō\nLatin albēdōbor.\nEnglish albedo\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"whiteness\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"alb(us)\", \"gloss\" : \"white\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"white\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"white\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*albʰós\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*alβos\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"albus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"Hoffmann\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-Hō\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ēdō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\", \"pos\" : \"abstract noun suffix\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"albēdō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"albedo\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"albedo\">\nBorrowed from Latin albēdō (“whiteness”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:albēdō<t:whiteness>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *albʰós\nProto-Italic *alβos\nLatin alb(us)\nProto-Indo-European *-Hōder.\nLatin -ēdō\nLatin albēdōbor.\nEnglish albedo\nBorrowed from Latin albēdō (“whiteness”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*albʰós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/albʰós#Proto-Indo-European:_white"
    ],
    [
      "*alβos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/alβos#Proto-Italic:_white"
    ],
    [
      "alb(us)",
      "albus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*-Hō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-Hō#Proto-Indo-European:_Hoffmann"
    ],
    [
      "-ēdō",
      "-edo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "albēdō",
      "albedo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "albēdō",
      "albedo#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The fraction of incident light or radiation reflected by a surface or body, commonly expressed as a percentage.",
        "The whitish inner portion of the rind of citrus fruits that is a source of pectin, commonly referred to as the pith.",
        "One of the four major stages of the magnum opus, involving purification of the prima materia."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "659a54e93137b26445f7b6a9589a5c92b340b661b9136de339f1791f55636b31",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6d122997e6c802cc095ed70cdaa917e571957af71146186c8a946513092f4e9b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 257760
    }
  ],
  "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 albedo →

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-YWxiZWRv