tomorrow
/təˈmɒroʊ/
adverb
Origin
Old English
to morgene — at the morning
Overview
Meaning Now
- on or for the day after the present day
- in the near future
Literal older meaning
on (the) morrow
Language path
Proto-Germanic → Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
to morwe
Earliest period
13th century
Journey
The word originated as a prepositional phrase 'to morrow', where 'to' meant 'at' and 'morrow' was a variant of 'morning'. Over time, the phrase solidified into a compound noun and adverb. 'Morrow' itself stems from the same Germanic root as the German 'Morgen' and Dutch 'morgen'.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*tō morginai
“at morning”
Prepositional phrase denoting a time reference.
- Old English
tō morgene
“at morning/on the morrow”
Dative case of 'morgen' (morning).
- Middle English
to morwe
“the next day”
Loss of the dative ending -e.
- Modern English
tomorrow
“the day after today”
Consolidation of the phrase into a single adverb.
Connections
Word parts
to
prefix
preposition denoting 'at' or 'to'
morrow
root
morning
Related across languages
Dutch
morgen
morning / tomorrow
German
morgen
morning / tomorrow
Explore next
Related to tomorrow
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.