Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lighting” come from?

Lighting derives from Middle English -ing, Old English -ing, and Proto-Indo-European lewk-, a root meaning to shine or be bright.

lighting (English): The equipment used to provide illumination; the...

Definitions

  1. The equipment used to provide illumination; the...

Ancestry of “lighting”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ingUsed to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,...
2Old English-ingForming nouns from verbs, indicating action,...
3Old English-tūn—
4Old Englishtūnenclosure, yard; place; dwelling
5Proto-West Germanictūnfence
6Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
7Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
8Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “lighting”

  • streetlighting
  • downlighting
  • underlighting
  • firelighting
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →