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
- Awake; not sleeping; Sleepless; Vigilant and...
Ancestry of “wakeful”, step by step
wakeful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English wake
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wake | To stop sleeping; To make somebody stop sleeping;... |
| 2 | Middle English | wake | Alternative form of woke |
| 3 | Old English | wacu | wake, watch |
| 4 | Old English | ford | ford |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | furdu | ford |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | furduz | ford |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pértus | crossing |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English ful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ful | — |