Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “tonight” come from?

tonight (Middle English) comes from Middle English tonyght, from Old English tō niht, from Old English tō, from Proto-West Germanic *tō, from Proto-Germanic tō, from Proto-Indo-European de — Emphatic or contrastive particle, and, but;...

tonight (Middle English): Alternative form of tonyght

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of tonyght

Ancestry of “tonight”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishtonyghtOn the currently occurring night; On the night...
2Old Englishtō niht—
3Old Englishtōat, on; furthermore, also, besides; to, into
4Proto-West Germanic*tō—
5Proto-Germanictōto
6Proto-Indo-EuropeandeEmphatic or contrastive particle, and, but;...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European de →