Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sunrise” come from?

Sunrise derives from Middle English sonne-rys, a compound of sonne (sun) and rys (rising).

sunrise (English): The time of day when the sun appears above the...

Definitions

  1. The time of day when the sun appears above the...

Ancestry of “sunrise”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSunAbbreviation of Sunday
2Middle EnglishsunneAlternative form of sonne; sun
3Old Englishsunnesun
4Proto-West Germanicsunnāsun
5Proto-Germanicsunnǭthe sun
6Proto-Indo-Europeansh̥₂uénsun; the Sun
7Proto-Indo-Europeansóh₂wl̥sun

Words derived from “sunrise”

  • presunrise
  • sunrise period
  • sunrisy
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sóh₂wl̥ →