Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “nightingale” come from?

nightingale (Middle English) comes from Middle English nyghtyngale, from Middle English nyghtgale, from Old English nihtegale, from Proto-West Germanic nahtigalā, from Proto-West Germanic naht, from Proto-Germanic nahts, from Proto-Indo-European nókʷts, from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- — bare, naked.

nightingale (Middle English): Alternative form of nyghtyngale

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of nyghtyngale

Ancestry of “nightingale”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishnyghtyngalenightingale
2Middle Englishnyghtgalenightingale
3Old Englishnihtegalenightingale
4Proto-West Germanicnahtigalānightingale
5Proto-West Germanicnahtnight
6Proto-Germanicnahtsnight
7Proto-Indo-Europeannókʷtsnight
8Proto-Indo-Europeannegʷ-bare, naked

Words derived from “nightingale”

  • nightingale
  • 나이팅게일
Every word from Proto-Indo-European negʷ- →