Etymograph

English

light

Light comes from Middle English light, from Old English lēoht, from Proto-Germanic *leuhtą, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘to shine’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-1‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewktom1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*leuhtą1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*leuht1‘light’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēoht1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500light1‘light, illumination’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591light1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English light
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “He shall never know / That I had any…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-Wiktionary, English light‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewktomWiktionary, English lightreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*leuhtąWiktionary, English lightreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*leuhtWiktionary, English light‘light’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēohtWiktionary, English light
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lightWiktionary, English light‘light, illumination’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591lightWiktionary, English light. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “He shall never know / That I had any…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with light, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘to shine’

  • low ← lowe ← logi ← *ᛚᚢᚷᚨ ← *lugô
  • los ← lusk ← lox ← *luhs ← *luhsaz
  • link ← lynchinus ← λύχνος ← *luk-s-nos
  • lucy ← lūcius ← lūx ← *louks ← *léwks
  • ounce ← once ← lonce ← lonza ← *luncea
  • lunar ← lūnāris ← lūna ← *louksnā ← *lówksneh₂
  • luna ← *louksnā ← *lówksneh₂
  • lea ← legh ← lēah ← *lauh ← *lauhaz
  • illumination ← illūminātiō ← illūminō ← lūminō ← lūmen
  • lux ← *louks ← *léwks
  • illuminate ← illuminaten ← illūminātus ← illūminō ← lūminō
  • lucid ← lūcidus ← lūceō ← *l(o)ukēō ← *lukéh₁yeti

88 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *lewk- →

Another origin of light

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-‘to shine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewktomreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*leuhtąreconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*liuhtijaną‘to give light, shine’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*liuhtijanreconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150līehtan‘to light, to shine’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lighten
  8. Englishtodaylight

Another origin of light

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*leuhtazreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēoht‘luminous, bright, light, clear, resplendent, renowned, beautiful’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500light‘the radiation which allows for vision by brightening objects and colours’
  5. Englishtodaylight

Another origin of light

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lengʷʰ-‘lightweight’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*linhtaz‘light (in weight)’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lį̄ht‘light (in weight)’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēht
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500liȝt
  6. Englishtodaylight

Another origin of light

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lengʷʰ-‘lightweight’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*linhtazreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*linhtijaną‘to make light’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lį̄htijan‘to lighten, make weigh less’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150līhtan‘to relieve’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lighten
  7. Englishtodaylight

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

noun Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range visible to the human eye (about 400–750 nanometers): visible light.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “light”. 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 *lewk- / light