English

foredawn

From fore- + dawn.

Formed from fore- + dawn

Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘before, formerly’

Proto-Germanic *fura- ‘before, in front of, for’

Proto-West Germanic *forē- ‘before, in front of, fore-, pre-’

English fore-

Middle English dawnen ‘to dawn’

English dawn

Today it means

noun The time before dawn.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / foredawn