English
luna
Luna comes from Latin lūna ‘moon’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-1‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówksneh₂1‘moon’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksnā1‘moon’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūna2‘moon’
- Englishearliest quotation 1907luna2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin luna
- 2 Wiktionary, English luna
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Dominicanus: “The Bread of Angels is first taken from the…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-Wiktionary, Latin luna‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówksneh₂Wiktionary, Latin luna‘moon’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksnāWiktionary, Latin luna‘moon’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūnaWiktionary, English luna‘moon’
- Englishearliest quotation 1907lunaWiktionary, English luna. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Dominicanus: “The Bread of Angels is first taken from the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’
light, low, link, los, lucy, lea, ounce, lynx, translucent, illumination, luminous, lucid, illuminate, lux, lumen, luminosity, luce, lumia, loach, leucine, luminescent, lum, luminary, luminal, 75 more
through Latin lūna ‘moon’
Another origin of luna
- Proto-Polynesianprehistoric (reconstructed)*runaŋa‘council, assembly’uncertain
- Hawaiianmodernluna‘leader’
- Englishtodayluna
Today it means
noun A luna moth: a member of species Actias luna.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “luna”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin luna. 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- / luna