Etymology

opening

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Today it means: Pertaining to the start or beginning of a series of events. Full definition →

Middle English openynge ← Old English openiende ← Proto-West Germanic *opanōndī
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opening · verb, adjective1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*upanōndz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*opanōndī
  3. Old English · inherited fromopeniende
  4. Middle English · inherited fromopenynge
  5. English todayopening

From Middle English openynge, openande, openand, from Old English openiende, from Proto-West Germanic *opanōndī, from Proto-Germanic *upanōndz, present participle of *upanōną (“to open”), equivalent to open + -ing. Cognate with West Frisian iepenjend, Dutch openend, German öffnend, Swedish öppnande, Icelandic opnandi.

opening · noun2

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*upanungō“an opening”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*opanungu
  3. Old English · inherited fromopenung“an opening”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromopenyng
  5. English todayopening

From Middle English openyng, openynge, openunge, from Old English openung (“an opening”), from Proto-West Germanic *opanungu, from Proto-Germanic *upanungō (“an opening”), equivalent to open + -ing. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Eepenge, Epenge (“an opening”), West Frisian iepening (“an opening”), Dutch opening (“an opening”), German Öffnung (“an opening”), Danish åbning (“an opening”), Swedish öppning (“an opening”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.