Etymograph

English

insomnious

Insomnious comes from Latin insomniosus ‘sleepless’, from in- -is ‘-less, without, lacking’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swep- ‘to sleep’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swep-1‘to sleep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swépnos1‘sleep, slumber’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*swepnos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsomnus1‘sleep, slumber’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -is1‘-less, without, lacking’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinsomnis1‘sleepless, unsleeping’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinsomnia2
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinsomniosus2‘sleepless’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2017insomnious2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin insomnia
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English insomnious
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2017, Jeannie Chen, Cheng Hsiu Chen: “Insomnious people are encouraged to list all hidden agitations…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swep-Wiktionary, Latin insomnia‘to sleep’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swépnosWiktionary, Latin insomnia‘sleep, slumber’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*swepnosWiktionary, Latin insomniareconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsomnusWiktionary, Latin insomnia‘sleep, slumber’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -isWiktionary, Latin insomnia‘-less, without, lacking’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinsomnisWiktionary, Latin insomnia‘sleepless, unsleeping’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinsomniaWiktionary, English insomnious
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinsomniosusWiktionary, English insomnious‘sleepless’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2017insomniousWiktionary, English insomnious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2017, Jeannie Chen, Cheng Hsiu Chen: “Insomnious people are encouraged to list all hidden agitations…”

Linked words

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

hypnosis, hypnotic, soporific, 19 more

through Latin in- -is ‘-less, without, lacking’

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

Today it means

adj restless; sleepless

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “insomnious”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for 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- / insomnious

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