Where does “moonlight” come from?
Moonlight comes from Middle English monelight, from Old English mōnan lēoht, literally meaning "light of the moon."
moonlight (English): The light reflected from the Moon; To work on the...
Definitions
- The light reflected from the Moon; To work on the...
Ancestry of “moonlight”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | moonelight | moonlight |
| 2 | Middle English | Mone | A lamentation; a sorrowful moan or expression |
| 3 | Old English | mān | bad, criminal, false; shameful act; crime;... |
| 4 | Sanskrit | महादेव | the "great God" |
| 5 | Sanskrit | महा | combining form of महत्; buffalo; great, large,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | maźʰā́ | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | maȷ́ʰā́ | big, great |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | méǵh₂s | big, great |