Where does “siesta” come from?

Siesta comes from Spanish siesta, from Latin sexta, the feminine form of sextus meaning sixth, ultimately from Latin sex meaning six, originally denoting the sixth hour of the Roman day.

siesta (English): A nap, especially an afternoon one taken after...

Definitions

  1. A nap, especially an afternoon one taken after...

Ancestry of “siesta”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishsiestasiesta, nap
2Old Spanishsiestanoon; midday
3LatinsextaNoon, reckoned as the sixth hour of daylight;...
4LatinSextusparticularly popular in Gaul. (Occasionally also found as a cognomen.) In particular
5Latinsexsix; 6
6Proto-Italicsekssix
7Proto-Indo-Europeanswéḱssix
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swéḱs
siesta — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer