alighten

alighten · verb¹

1. Old English · inherited fromġelīhtan“to alight, approach, come, come down, dismount”
2. Old English · inherited fromālīhtan“to alight, dismount”
3. Middle English · inherited fromalighten
4. English todayalighten

From Middle English alighten, from a merger of Old English ālīhtan (“to alight, dismount”), from prefix ā- (compare Gothic 𐌿𐍃- (us-), German er- originally meaning "out") + līhtan (“to alight”); and Old English ġelīhtan (“to alight, approach, come, come down, dismount”); equivalent to alight + -en.

alighten · verb²

1. Old English · inherited fromġelīhtan“to lighten, mitigate, assuage”
2. Old English · inherited fromālīhtan“to lighten, relieve, alleviate, take off, take away, alight”
3. Middle English · inherited fromalighten
4. English todayalighten

From Middle English alighten, from a merger of Old English ālīhtan (“to lighten, relieve, alleviate, take off, take away, alight”) and Old English ġelīhtan (“to lighten, mitigate, assuage”); equivalent to a- + lighten.

alighten · verb³

1. Old English · inherited fromālīhtan“to light up, enlighten”
2. Middle English · inherited fromalighten
3. English todayalighten

From Middle English alighten, from Old English ālīhtan (“to light up, enlighten”); equivalent to a- + light. Cognate with German erleuchten (“to light up, illuminate”).

Words from the same roots