Where does “myrke” come from?

myrke (Middle English) comes from Old Norse myrkr, from Proto-Germanic merkuz, from Proto-Indo-European mergʷ- — dark, coloured; to flicker; to darken; to be dark.

Ancestry of “myrke”, step by step

myrke traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Norse myrkr

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsemyrkrdark, murky
2Proto-Germanicmerkuzdark
3Proto-Indo-Europeanmergʷ-dark, coloured; to flicker; to darken; to be dark

via Old English mirce

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishmircemurky, dark in color
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mergʷ-Every word from Proto-Germanic merkuzEvery word from Old Norse myrkr
myrke — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer