Etymograph

English

pernoctation

Pernoctation comes from Late Latin pernoctātiō ‘act of spending of the night’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- ‘bare, naked’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*negʷ-1‘bare, naked’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nókʷts2‘night’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nok⁽ʷ⁾ts2‘night’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnox2‘night’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpernoctō3‘to spend the night’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpernoctātiō3‘act of spending of the night’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1685pernoctation3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts, which cites Kroonen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin pernocto
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English pernoctation
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1685, R. H. pseudonym; Abraham Woodhead, Part I: “The next morning they [Mary and Joseph] return back…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*negʷ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts, which cites Kroonen‘bare, naked’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nókʷtsWiktionary, Latin pernocto‘night’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nok⁽ʷ⁾tsWiktionary, Latin pernocto‘night’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnoxWiktionary, Latin pernocto‘night’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpernoctōWiktionary, English pernoctation‘to spend the night’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpernoctātiōWiktionary, English pernoctation‘act of spending of the night’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1685pernoctationWiktionary, English pernoctation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1685, R. H. pseudonym; Abraham Woodhead, Part I: “The next morning they [Mary and Joseph] return back…”

Equivalent to pernoctate + -ion

Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- ‘bare, naked’

Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts ‘night’

Proto-Italic *nok⁽ʷ⁾ts ‘night’

Latin nox ‘night’

Latin pernoctō ‘to spend the night’

English pernoctate

The story

Pernoctō is from per- (prefix with the sense of completion or entirety forming verbs) + nox (‘night; darkness’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- ‘bare, naked’

nights, naked, nude, negro, gymnastics, gymnasium, gymnast, naga, actin, denigrate, nudism, 48 more

through Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts ‘night’

night, noir, nigger, nigella, negroni, 27 more

through Latin nox ‘night’

nocturnal, nox, nocturne, 7 more

Today it means

noun The action of abiding through the night at a location; (countable) an instance of this; an overnight stay.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pernoctation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts, Latin pernocto. 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 *negʷ- / pernoctation

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