Etymology

nightmarish

N1I1G2H4T1M3A1R1I1S1H4

Today it means: Resembling a nightmare. Full definition →

English nightmare ← Middle English nyghtmare ← Old English *nihtmare
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*nókʷts
  2. Proto-Germanic*nahts
  3. Proto-West Germanic*naht
  4. Proto-Indo-European*mer-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*mor-
  6. Proto-Germanic*marǭ
  7. Proto-West Germanic*marā
  8. Proto-West Germanic*nahtmarā
  9. Old English*nihtmare
  10. Middle Englishnyghtmare
  11. Englishnightmare
  12. English todaynightmarish

From nightmare + -ish.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.