English
full moon
Full moon comes from Middle English ful mone ‘the phase of the moon when in opposition with…’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *fullaz mēnô.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fullaz mēnôreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150full mōna
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ful mone‘the phase of the moon when in opposition with the sun’
- Englishearliest quotation 1923full moon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fullaz mēnôreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150full mōna
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ful mone‘the phase of the moon when in opposition with the sun’
- Englishearliest quotation 1923full moon
Earliest quotation: 1923, Lawrence Shaw Mayo, The Shenando’ Valley: “It is true also that the roosters, especially during…”
Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- ‘to fill’
…
Proto-Germanic *fullaz ‘full’
Proto-West Germanic *full ‘full’
Old English full ‘full’
Middle English ful ‘full’
English full
Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s ‘moon’
Proto-Germanic *mēnô
Proto-West Germanic *mānō
Old English mōna
Middle English mone ‘the celestial body closest to the Earth’
English moon
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *fullaz mēnô
Today it means
noun The phase of the moon when it is in opposition to the sun and its full disc is therefore visible.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *fullaz mēnô / full moon