Where does “midnight” come from?

Midnight comes from Old English midniht, combining mid- "middle" and niht "night," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European médʰyos and nahts meaning "middle" and "night."

midnight (English): The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour,...

Definitions

  1. The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour,...

Ancestry of “midnight”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmidnight—
2Old Englishmidnihtmidnight
3Proto-Germanicmidjanahtsmidnight
4Proto-Germanicmidjazmiddle, mid
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmédʰyosmiddle
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmedʰi-with, among; with, along
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmein the middle of, near, by, around, with

Words derived from “midnight”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European me →Every word from Proto-Indo-European medʰi- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European médʰyos →
midnight — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer