English
medianoche
Medianoche comes from Spanish medianoche ‘midnight’, from medio ‘middle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *me ‘near, by, with’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*me1‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyos2‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðios2‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedius3‘half’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentmedio4‘middle’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentmedianoche5‘midnight’feminine of medio
- Englishtodaymedianoche5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin medius
- 3 Wiktionary, Spanish medio
- 4 Wiktionary, Spanish medianoche
- 5 Wiktionary, English medianoche
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyosWiktionary, Latin medius‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðiosWiktionary, Latin medius‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmediusWiktionary, Spanish medio‘half’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentmedioWiktionary, Spanish medianoche‘middle’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentmedianocheWiktionary, English medianoche‘midnight’feminine of medio
- EnglishtodaymedianocheWiktionary, English medianoche
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ‘between’
mid, midst, maidan, meso, 30 more
through Proto-Italic *meðios ‘middle’
through Latin medius ‘half’
mean, medium, medal, demi, mediation, milieu, moiety, mezzanine, medulla, moyen, intermezzo, 21 more
through Spanish medio ‘middle’
Today it means
noun A Caribbean sandwich of roast pork, ham, mustard, Swiss cheese, and dill pickles.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “medianoche”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos, Latin medius, Spanish medio, Spanish medianoche. 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 *me / medianoche