Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nightclothes” come from?

nightclothes (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.

nightclothes (English): Clothing worn while sleeping in bed, such as...

Definitions

  1. Clothing worn while sleeping in bed, such as...

Ancestry of “nightclothes”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishnightThe period between sunset and sunrise, when a...
2Middle EnglishnyghtAlternative form of nighte; Alternative form of...
3Middle Englishnightenight
4Old EnglishnyhtAlternative form of niht
5Proto-West Germanicnahtnight
6Proto-Germanicnahtsnight
7Proto-Indo-Europeannókʷtsnight
8Proto-Indo-Europeannegʷ-bare, naked
Every word from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- →