Cannot be separated from Akk. takiltu ‘a blue-purple wooľ (an exact vocalic match to the Hebrew word), JPA toklā ‘purple wooľ, CPA twklɁ ‘blue fabric’, JBA tǝkēltā ‘tekhelet color’, Syr. tekltā ‘color caeruleus, purpureus’. Their futher etymology is unknown.