Where does “shut-eye” come from?

shut-eye (English) comes from English Eye, from English -some, from Middle English -som, from Old English sum, from Proto-West Germanic *sum, from Proto-Germanic sumaz, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.

shut-eye (English): Sleep

Definitions

  1. Sleep

Ancestry of “shut-eye”, step by step

shut-eye traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Eye

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishEyeA place name
2English-someCharacterized by some specific condition or...
3Middle English-somsome; having a specific quality
4Old Englishsumsome
5Proto-West Germanic*sumsome
6Proto-Germanicsumazsome (one), a certain (one)
7Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one

via English shut

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishshutTo close, to stop from being open; To close, to...
2Old Englishsċēotanto shoot
3Proto-West Germanicskeutanto shoot
4Proto-Germanicskeutanąto shoot
5Proto-Indo-European(s)kewd-to advance, push; to drive, propel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem-
shut-eye — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer