ḥwr / Semitic roots

Central Semitic, to be(come) white.

houri, from Arabic ḥūrīya, nymph, houri, from ḥūr, plural (also used as singular) of ʔaḥwar, feminine ḥawrāʔ, characterized by the quality ḥawar, intense whiteness of the sclera of the eye in contrast to deep blackness of the iris (compare ḥawira, to have this quality).