Where does “nightcap” come from?
nightcap (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.
nightcap (English): A warm cloth cap worn while sleeping, often with...
Definitions
- A warm cloth cap worn while sleeping, often with...
Ancestry of “nightcap”, step by step
nightcap traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English night
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | night | The period between sunset and sunrise, when a... |
| 2 | Middle English | nyght | Alternative form of nighte; Alternative form of... |
| 3 | Middle English | nighte | night |
| 4 | Old English | nyht | Alternative form of niht |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | naht | night |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | nahts | night |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | nókʷts | night |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | negʷ- | bare, naked |
via English Cap
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Cap | A nickname for the captain of a team, ship, etc |
| 2 | English | Capricorn | Someone with a Capricorn star sign |
| 3 | French | Capricorne | Capricorn |
| 4 | Latin | Capricornus | Capricornus, the constellation of the zodiac |
| 5 | Latin | caper | a male goat, billy goat; vocative singular of... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *kapros | he-goat |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kápros | he-goat, billy goat |