Where does “aha moment” come from?

aha moment (English) comes from English moment, from Middle English moment, from Old French moment, from Latin mōmentum, from Latin mōvimentum, from Latin -mentum, from Latin -menta, from Proto-Indo-European -mn̥ — Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs.

aha moment (English): The moment or instant at which the solution to a...

Definitions

  1. The moment or instant at which the solution to a...

Ancestry of “aha moment”, step by step

aha moment traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English moment

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmomentA brief, unspecified amount of time; The smallest...
2Middle Englishmoment
3Old Frenchmoment
4Latinmōmentummovement, motion, impulse; course
5Latinmōvimentummovement
6Latin-mentuminstrument, medium, or result of; e.g....
7Latin-mentanominative plural of -mentum; accusative plural...
8Proto-Indo-European-mn̥Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs

via English aha

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishahaAn exclamation of understanding, realization,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mn̥Every word from Latin -mentumEvery word from Latin mōvimentum