Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sunny” come from?

Sunny comes from Middle English sunni with the diminutive suffix -y, from Middle French -ie and Latin -ium, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European sew- meaning to shine.

sunny (English): Featuring a lot of sunshine; Receiving a lot of...

Definitions

  1. Featuring a lot of sunshine; Receiving a lot of...

Ancestry of “sunny”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishsunniFull of or illuminated by sunlight; sunny
2Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
3Middle English-ien—
4Old English-ianForms verbs from nouns and adjectives
5Old English-ōjan—
6Proto-West Germanic-ōnCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
7Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
8Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
9Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
10Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
11Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “sunny”

  • Sunnyvale
  • sunniness
  • sunnily
  • unsunny
  • semisunny
Every word from Chichewa iye →