English

insight

Insight comes from Middle English insight.

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

Earliest quotation: 1980, Carl Sagan: “The history of our study of our solar system…”

Formed from in- + sight

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

Proto-Germanic *in ‘into’

English in-

Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to see’

…

Proto-West Germanic *sehwan ‘to see’

Proto-West Germanic *sihti ‘seeing’

Old English sihþ ‘something seen’

Middle English sighte

English sight

Every English word from Middle English insight

noun A sight or view of the interior of anything; a deep inspection or view; introspection; frequently used with into.

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