Where does “daylight” come from?
Daylight comes from Middle English daye-lighte, a compound of day and light referring to the natural illumination provided by the sun during daytime hours.
daylight (English): The light from the Sun, as opposed to that from...
Definitions
- The light from the Sun, as opposed to that from...
Ancestry of “daylight”, step by step
daylight traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English Light
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Light | A place name |
| 2 | Middle English | light | The radiation which allows for vision by... |
| 3 | Old English | lēoht | luminous, bright, light, clear, resplendent,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | leuht | light, bright; light |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | leuhtą | light |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lewktom | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lewk- | bright; to shine; to see |
via English Day
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Day | derived from a medieval diminutive of David |
| 2 | Middle English | day | day; daylight, sunlight; epoch, age, period |
| 3 | Old English | dæġ | day, daytime |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | dag | day |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | dagaz | day; name of the D-rune |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰegʷʰ- | to burn; warm, hot |
via Middle English daye-lighte
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | daye-lighte | — |