Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nighttime” come from?

Nighttime is a Middle English compound of nyght and tyme, referring to the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise.

nighttime (English): The hours of darkness between sunset and sunrise;...

Definitions

  1. The hours of darkness between sunset and sunrise;...

Ancestry of “nighttime”, 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- →