Inherited from Old Catalan colde, from pre-literary *coude (with hypercorrection of coda [w] to [ɫ]), from Latin cubitum. Compare the development of Catalan malalt, delme from original malaute, deume (Latin male habitus, decimus). The subsequent change from /d/ to /(d)z/ may have been by analogy with polze (“thumb”). Doublet of cúbit, a borrowing from Latin.