Where does “soon” come from?
Soon descends from Middle English sone, Old English sunne, and Proto-Indo-European sóh₂wl̥, originally denoting the sun before developing temporal meaning.
soon (English): Short in length of time from the present; early;...
Definitions
- Short in length of time from the present; early;...
Ancestry of “soon”, step by step
soon traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English sone
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sone | son; soon; Alternative form of sonne |
| 2 | Old English | sōna | immediately, at once |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | sān(ō) | immediately |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | sēna | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *sa | — |
| 6 | Proto-Austronesian | *əsa | — |
| 7 | Proto-Oceanic | *isa | — |
via Chinese Mandarin 孫
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chinese Mandarin | 孫 | — |