Etymograph

English

thunderlight

Thunderlight comes from Middle English thonderlyht.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thonderlyht1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1986thunderlight1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English thunderlight
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1986, Association for the Development of Earth: “A pillar of fire something like a thunderlight was…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thonderlyhtWiktionary, English thunderlight
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1986thunderlightWiktionary, English thunderlight. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1986, Association for the Development of Earth: “A pillar of fire something like a thunderlight was…”

A compound of thunder + light

Proto-Indo-European *(s)ten-

Proto-Germanic *þunraz

Proto-West Germanic *þunr

Old English þunor

Middle English thunder

English thunder

Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘to shine’

…

Proto-Germanic *leuhtą

Proto-West Germanic *leuht ‘light’

Old English lēoht

Middle English light ‘light, illumination’

English light

Every English word from Middle English thonderlyht

Today it means

noun Lightning; a bolt or flash of lightning.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “thunderlight”. 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 / Middle English thonderlyht / thunderlight

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