English
moon
Moon comes from Middle English mone ‘the celestial body closest to the Earth’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s ‘moon’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mḗh₁n̥s1‘moon’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mēnô1reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mānō1reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mōna1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mone1‘the celestial body closest to the Earth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526moon1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English moon
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Immediatly after the tribulacions off thoſe dayes / ſhall…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mḗh₁n̥sWiktionary, English moon‘moon’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mēnôWiktionary, English moonreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mānōWiktionary, English moonreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150mōnaWiktionary, English moon
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moneWiktionary, English moon‘the celestial body closest to the Earth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526moonWiktionary, English moon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Immediatly after the tribulacions off thoſe dayes / ſhall…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to measure’
measure, meal, moral, meter, immense, metric, dimensional, dimension, metre, mesa, moody, 75 more
through Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s
through Proto-Germanic *mēnô
through Middle English mone ‘the celestial body closest to the Earth’
Today it means
name Any natural satellite of a planet.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “moon”. 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 *mḗh₁n̥s / moon