Where does “streetlight” come from?
Streetlight combines English street with light, where light derives from Old English lēoht, Proto-Germanic liuhtijaną, and Proto-Indo-European lewktom meaning illumination or brightness.
streetlight (English): Any large outdoor light used to illuminate a...
Definitions
- Any large outdoor light used to illuminate a...
Ancestry of “streetlight”, step by step
streetlight traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English street
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | street | A paved part of road, usually in a village or a... |
| 2 | Middle English | strete | A road or path connecting two settlements or... |
| 3 | Old English | strǣt | road; a road, a town-road, a street, a paved... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | strātu | street, paved road |
| 5 | Latin | strāta | a paved road |
| 6 | Latin | strātus | — |
| 7 | Latin | sternō | to spread, stretch out, spread out |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | stornō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | str̥-n-h₃- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | sterh₃- | to spread, extend, stretch out |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ster- | sterile, infertile |
via English Light
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Light | A place name |
| 2 | Middle English | light | The radiation which allows for vision by... |
| 3 | Old English | lēoht | luminous, bright, light, clear, resplendent,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | leuht | light, bright; light |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | leuhtą | light |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lewktom | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lewk- | bright; to shine; to see |