Etymology

awake

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Today it means: Not asleep; conscious. Full definition →

Middle English awake ← Old English āwacan ← Proto-West Germanic *wakan
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awake · adjective1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ud-s-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂u-s-?
  3. Proto-Germanic*uz-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*uʀ-
  5. Old Englishar-
  6. Old Englishā-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*weǵ-
  8. Proto-Germanic*wakaną
  9. Proto-West Germanic*wakan
  10. Old Englishwacan
  11. Old Englishāwacan
  12. Middle Englishawaken
  13. Middle Englishawake
  14. English todayawake

From Middle English awake, a shortened form of awaken (“awakened, awake”), past participle of Middle English awaken (“to awaken”). See verb below. Compare Saterland Frisian woak (“awake”), German Low German waak (“awake”), German wach (“awake”).

awake · verb2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ud-s-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂u-s-?
  3. Proto-Germanic*uz-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*uʀ-
  5. Old Englishar-
  6. Old Englishā-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*weǵ-
  8. Proto-Germanic*wakaną
  9. Proto-West Germanic*wakan
  10. Old Englishwacan
  11. Old Englishāwacan
  12. Middle Englishawaken
  13. English todayawake

From Middle English awaken and awakien, from Old English āwacan and āwacian. By surface analysis, a- + wake.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.