Where does “premidnight” come from?
premidnight (English) comes from English midnight, from Middle English midnight, from Old English midniht, from Proto-Germanic midjanahts, from Proto-Germanic midjaz, from Proto-Indo-European médʰyos, from Proto-Indo-European medʰi-, from Proto-Indo-European me — in the middle of, near, by, around, with.
premidnight (English): Before midnight
Definitions
- Before midnight
Ancestry of “premidnight”, step by step
premidnight traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English midnight
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | midnight | The middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour,... |
| 2 | Middle English | midnight | — |
| 3 | Old English | midniht | midnight |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | midjanahts | midnight |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | midjaz | middle, mid |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | médʰyos | middle |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | medʰi- | with, among; with, along |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | me | in the middle of, near, by, around, with |
via English pre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pre | Before; Precum, Cowper's fluid, pre-ejaculate; To... |
| 2 | Latin | prae | before; in front; in front of |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | prai | before; in front of |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | preh₂- | before, in front |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |