Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “day” come from?

day (Middle English) comes from Old English dæġ, from Proto-West Germanic dag, from Proto-Germanic dagaz, from Proto-Indo-European dʰegʷʰ- — to burn; warm, hot.

day (Middle English): day; daylight, sunlight; epoch, age, period

Definitions

  1. day; daylight, sunlight; epoch, age, period

Ancestry of “day”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishdæġday, daytime
2Proto-West Germanicdagday
3Proto-Germanicdagazday; name of the D-rune
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰegʷʰ-to burn; warm, hot

Words derived from “day”

  • days
  • nowadays
  • daytime
  • someday
  • daybreak
  • noonday
  • weekday
  • daydreaming
  • daydream
  • daycare
  • payday
  • doomsday
  • intraday
  • daylong
  • daybook
  • daybed
  • dayroom
  • multiday
  • adays
  • daylength
  • dayside
  • daypack
  • daydreamer
  • washday
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰegʷʰ- →