An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Blume

by Friedrich Kluge

Blume, feminine, ‘blossom, flower,’ from Middle High German bluome, masculine, feminine, Old High German bluoma, feminine (bluomo, masculine); compare Old Saxon blômo, Gothic blôma, Anglo-Saxon blôma, English bloom. -man-is a derivative suffix; the root blô (see blühen) shows that Blume is literally ‘the blooming plant.’ The following are also Teutonic cognates of Blume: — Dutch bloesem (besides bloem), Anglo-Saxon blôstm, blôstma, English blossom; perhaps their s belongs, however, to the root; this is indicated by Middle Dutch blôsen, ‘to bloom,’ which points to the close connection between English blossom and Latin florere for *flôsê-re, flôs (flôr-is for *flôsis). A root bhlô without this s appears in Old Irish bláth, ‘blossom,’ English dialectic blooth, ‘flower.’ See further the following word, also Blüte and Blatt.