*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of albino

Borrowed from Portuguese albino and Spanish albino. * Portuguese albino is from Medieval Latin albinus, from Latin albus * Spanish albino is diminutive of albo, from Latin albus (“white”).

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 ↗
adj

Congenitally lacking melanin pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair or feathers (or more rarely only in the eyes); born with albinism.

noun

A person or animal congenitally lacking melanin pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair or feathers (or more rarely only in the eyes); one born with albinism.

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

Borrowed from Portuguese albino and Spanish albino. * Portuguese albino is from Medieval Latin albinus, from Latin albus * Spanish albino is diminutive of albo, from Latin albus (“white”).

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": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pt",
        "3": "albino"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese albino"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "es",
        "3": "albino"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish albino"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "pt",
        "2": "albino"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese albino"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "albinus"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin albinus"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "albus"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin albus"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "es",
        "2": "albino"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish albino"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "albus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "white"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin albus (“white”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "albino",
      "albino#Portuguese"
    ],
    [
      "albino",
      "albino#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "albino",
      "albino#Portuguese"
    ],
    [
      "albinus",
      "albinus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "albus",
      "albus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "albino",
      "albino#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "albo",
      "albo#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "albus",
      "albus#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Congenitally lacking melanin pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair or feathers (or more rarely only in the eyes); born with albinism."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "f4435b36dbd5c0dc1a1a0829f2b66e20f361823dea33ee707fa54052a893189e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "132458cf9871936c2890761c8aaa81eb7d28935d2e28ac07fe1627c6a3601737",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 193744
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A person or animal congenitally lacking melanin pigmentation in the skin, eyes, and hair or feathers (or more rarely only in the eyes); one born with albinism."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ],
      "recordId": "f7ced0c674e0584ed1bff0f6aa282ae75a3131cc2d5bbc084274cd7575ffae1c",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ae96a0072103c280b8ad923c719728d0f5849c8c9c8b083d494e176171d120ba",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 193745
    }
  ],
  "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 albino →

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-YWxiaW5v