Etymology

nightly

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Today it means: Happening or appearing in the night; night-time; nocturnal. Full definition →

Middle English nyȝtly ← Old English nihtlīċ
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nightly · adjective1

  1. Old English · inherited fromnihtlīċ
  2. Middle English · inherited fromnyȝtly
  3. English todaynightly

From Middle English nyȝtly, nihtlich, nihtlic, from Old English nihtlīċ, nihtelīċ (“nocturnal, nightly, of the night, at night”), equivalent to night + -ly. Cognate with Scots nichtlie (“nightly”), West Frisian nachtlik (“nightly, nocturnal”), Dutch nachtelijk (“nightly, nocturnal”), German nächtlich (“nocturnal, nightly”), Danish natlig (“nightly”), Swedish nattlig (“nightly, nocturnal”).

nightly · adverb, noun2

  1. Old English · inherited from*nihtlīċe“nightly”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromnyghtly
  3. English todaynightly

From Middle English nyghtly, neghtly, from Old English *nihtlīċe (“nightly”), equivalent to night + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.