Where does “starlit” come from?
Starlit comes from English star and English lit, with star deriving from Old Norse stjarna, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂stḗr meaning "star."
starlit (English): Illuminated by starlight
Ancestry of “starlit”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | star | Any small luminous dot appearing in the cloudless... |
| 2 | Middle English | sterre | star |
| 3 | Old English | steorra | star |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | sterrō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sternô | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂stḗr | star |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eHs- | to be/become dry; to burn, to glow; hearth |