*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of nox

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts Proto-Italic *nok⁽ʷ⁾ts Latin noxlbor. English nox Learned borrowing from Latin nox, from Proto-Italic *nok⁽ʷ⁾ts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

The period of darkness in each twenty-four hours; a night.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts Proto-Italic *nok⁽ʷ⁾ts Latin noxlbor. English nox Learned borrowing from Latin nox, from Proto-Italic *nok⁽ʷ⁾ts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:nox<id:night>",
        "id": "night",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *nókʷts\nProto-Italic *nok⁽ʷ⁾ts\nLatin noxlbor.\nEnglish nox\n[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"night\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"night\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"night\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"naked\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*negʷ-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"root\", \"is_invisible\" : \"all\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*nókʷts\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*nok⁽ʷ⁾ts\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"nox\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"nox\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"night\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"nox\" id=\"English:_night\">\nLearned borrowing from Latin nox, from Proto-Italic *nok⁽ʷ⁾ts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts."
    },
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        "3": "la:nox<id:night>",
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      },
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    }
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  "links": [
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    ],
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      "*nok⁽ʷ⁾ts",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/nok⁽ʷ⁾ts#Proto-Italic:_night"
    ],
    [
      "nox",
      "nox#Latin:_night"
    ],
    [
      "nox",
      "nox#Latin:_night"
    ],
    [
      "*nok⁽ʷ⁾ts",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/nok⁽ʷ⁾ts#Proto-Italic:_night"
    ],
    [
      "*nókʷts",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/nókʷts#Proto-Indo-European:_night"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The period of darkness in each twenty-four hours; a night."
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

millilux (unit of illuminance)

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Latin nox (“night; darkness”), by analogy with lux from Latin lūx (“light; daylight, day”). Doublet of night.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionnoxla · night; darkness
  • Non-cognate comparisonlūxla · light; daylight, day
  • Doublet mentionnighten
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "nox",
        "t": "night; darkness"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin nox (“night; darkness”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "lūx",
        "t": "light; daylight, day"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin lūx (“light; daylight, day”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "night"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of night"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "nox",
      "nox#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "lux",
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    ],
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    ],
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      "night",
      "night#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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        "millilux (unit of illuminance)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "rare"
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

Alternative form of NOx (nitrogen oxides) · Abbreviation of nitrous oxide (“N₂O”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From N (“nitrogen”) + ox (“oxide”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Compound componentNen
  • Compound componentoxen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
        "2": "N",
        "3": "ox",
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        "gloss2": "oxide"
      },
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    }
  ],
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    [
      "N",
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    ],
    [
      "ox",
      "ox#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of NOx (nitrogen oxides)",
        "Abbreviation of nitrous oxide (“N₂O”)."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for nox →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bm94