Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “wakeful” come from?

Wakeful derives from Middle English and Old English -ful, a suffix from Proto-Indo-European weǵ- meaning to be active or vigilant, combined with a root from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁-.

wakeful (English): Awake; not sleeping; Sleepless; Vigilant and...

Definitions

  1. Awake; not sleeping; Sleepless; Vigilant and...

Ancestry of “wakeful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwakeTo stop sleeping; To make somebody stop sleeping;...
2Middle EnglishwakeAlternative form of woke
3Old Englishwacuwake, watch
4Old Englishfordford
5Proto-West Germanicfurduford
6Proto-Germanicfurduzford
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpértuscrossing
8Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “wakeful”

  • wakefulness
  • wakefully
  • unwakeful
  • unwakefulness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →