Etymograph

English

insomnia

Insomnia comes from Latin īnsomnia ‘sleeplessness, insomnia’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *swep-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swep-1‘to sleep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swépnos1‘sleep, slumber’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsomnus2‘sleep’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -is3
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinsomnis3
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnsomnia2‘sleeplessness, insomnia’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2024insomnia2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin somnus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English insomnia
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin insomnia
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Madeline Holcombe, What to do on the nights you are struggling with insomnia, a: “It’s also possible for insomnia to be caused by…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swep-Wiktionary, Latin somnus‘to sleep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swépnosWiktionary, Latin somnus‘sleep, slumber’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsomnusWiktionary, English insomnia‘sleep’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -isWiktionary, Latin insomnia
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinsomnisWiktionary, Latin insomnia
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnsomniaWiktionary, English insomnia‘sleeplessness, insomnia’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2024insomniaWiktionary, English insomnia. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Madeline Holcombe, What to do on the nights you are struggling with insomnia, a: “It’s also possible for insomnia to be caused by…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *swep- ‘to sleep’

hypnosis, hypnotic, soporific, 19 more

through Latin in- -is

immune, inform, immunity, impunity, indemnity, 8 more

Today it means

noun A sleeping disorder that is known for its symptoms of unrest and the inability to sleep.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “insomnia”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin somnus, Latin insomnia. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *swep- / insomnia

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