night
/naɪt/
noun
Origin
Proto-Indo-European
*nókʷts — night
Overview
Meaning Now
- The period of darkness in each twenty-four hours; the time from sunset to sunrise.
- A period of time spent in a specific way, especially during the evening or night.
Literal older meaning
the time of darkness
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Old English → English
Earliest form
niht
Earliest period
Old English, 8th century
Journey
The concept of night is one of the most stable linguistic elements in Indo-European languages, with cognates appearing across almost every major branch, reflecting the fundamental human experience of the daily cycle.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*nókʷts
“night”
- Proto-Germanic
*nahts
“night”
- Old English
niht
“night”
- Middle English
night
“night”
Spelling stabilized following the loss of the guttural fricative /x/.
Connections
Word parts
night
root
the period of darkness
Related across languages
Latin
nox
night
German
Nacht
night
Greek
nyx
night
Explore next
Related to night
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.