Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “yesternight” come from?

yesternight (English) comes from Middle English yesternyght, from Old English ġiestranniht, from Old English ġiestran-, from Proto-Germanic gistr-, from Proto-Indo-European dʰǵʰyes-, from Proto-Indo-European dʰeǵʰ- — day.

yesternight (English): Last night; A preceding night

Definitions

  1. Last night; A preceding night

Ancestry of “yesternight”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishyesternyghtthe preceding night; yesternight
2Old Englishġiestrannihtyesternight
3Old Englishġiestran-yester; previous day, prior day
4Proto-Germanicgistr-yesterday
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰǵʰyes-yesterday, the day before
6Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeǵʰ-day
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰeǵʰ- →