Where does “meia-noite” come from?
meia-noite (Portuguese) comes from Portuguese meia, from Portuguese meia dúzia, from Portuguese dúzia, from Old Portuguese ducea, from Latin duodecim, from Latin decem, from Latin -nus, from Proto-Italic -nos — Creates verbal adjectives from roots.
meia-noite (Portuguese): midnight
Ancestry of “meia-noite”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Portuguese | meia | sock; Short for meia-entrada; obsolete unit of... |
| 2 | Portuguese | meia dúzia | half a dozen; couple |
| 3 | Portuguese | dúzia | dozen |
| 4 | Old Portuguese | ducea | — |
| 5 | Latin | duodecim | twelve; 12; dozen |
| 6 | Latin | decem | ten; 10 |
| 7 | Latin | -nus | -an |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -nos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -nós | Creates verbal adjectives from roots |