Etymograph

English

lunette

Lunette comes from French lune ‘moon’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-1‘bright’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówksneh₂1‘moon’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksnā1‘moon’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūna1‘a moon’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400lune1‘the Moon’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600lune1‘moon’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentlune2‘moon’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentlunette2diminutive of lune
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1822lunette2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French lune
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English lunette
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1822, Moses Aaron Richardson, The Local Historian's Table Book of Remarkable Occurrences: “The lesser portions of the tablet has over this…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-Wiktionary, French lune‘bright’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówksneh₂Wiktionary, French lune‘moon’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksnāWiktionary, French lune‘moon’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūnaWiktionary, French lune‘a moon’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400luneWiktionary, French lune‘the Moon’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600luneWiktionary, French lune‘moon’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentluneWiktionary, English lunette‘moon’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentlunetteWiktionary, English lunettediminutive of lune
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1822lunetteWiktionary, English lunette. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1822, Moses Aaron Richardson, The Local Historian's Table Book of Remarkable Occurrences: “The lesser portions of the tablet has over this…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’

light, low, link, los, lucy, lea, ounce, illumination, lynx, translucent, luminous, lux, lucid, illuminate, lumen, luminosity, luce, lumia, loach, lum, leucine, luminary, luminescent, luminal, 73 more

through Proto-Italic *louksnā ‘moon’

lunatic, 12 more

through Latin lūna ‘a moon’

lunar, luna, 13 more

Today it means

noun A small opening in a vaulted roof of a circular or crescent shape.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “lunette”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French lune. 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- / lunette

Shirt and support for this word