Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “all-night” come from?

all-night (English) comes from English night, from Middle English nyght, from Middle English nighte, from Old English nyht, from Proto-West Germanic naht, from Proto-Germanic nahts, from Proto-Indo-European nókʷts, from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- — bare, naked.

all-night (English): Lasting throughout the whole night

Definitions

  1. Lasting throughout the whole night

Ancestry of “all-night”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishnightThe period between sunset and sunrise, when a...
2Middle EnglishnyghtAlternative form of nighte; Alternative form of...
3Middle Englishnightenight
4Old EnglishnyhtAlternative form of niht
5Proto-West Germanicnahtnight
6Proto-Germanicnahtsnight
7Proto-Indo-Europeannókʷtsnight
8Proto-Indo-Europeannegʷ-bare, naked

Words derived from “all-night”

  • all-nighter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- →