Where does “wakefulness” come from?
Wakefulness comes from English wakeful plus the Old English suffix -nes, from Old English wake, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European weǵ- meaning to be strong or lively.
wakefulness (English): The state of being wakeful
Definitions
- The state of being wakeful
Ancestry of “wakefulness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wakeful | Awake; not sleeping; Sleepless; Vigilant and... |
| 2 | English | wake | To stop sleeping; To make somebody stop sleeping;... |
| 3 | Middle English | wake | Alternative form of woke |
| 4 | Old English | wacu | wake, watch |
| 5 | Old English | ford | ford |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | furdu | ford |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | furduz | ford |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pértus | crossing |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |