Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nightmary” come from?

nightmary (English) comes from English nightmare, 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 — bare, naked.

nightmary (English): Characterized by nightmares

Definitions

  1. Characterized by nightmares

Ancestry of “nightmary”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishnightmareA demon or monster, thought to plague people...
2EnglishnightThe period between sunset and sunrise, when a...
3Middle EnglishnyghtAlternative form of nighte; Alternative form of...
4Middle Englishnightenight
5Old EnglishnyhtAlternative form of niht
6Proto-West Germanicnahtnight
7Proto-Germanicnahtsnight
8Proto-Indo-Europeannókʷtsnight
9Proto-Indo-Europeannegʷ-bare, naked
Every word from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- →