The only free and comprehensive online etymological dictionary of the Spanish language

Word of the Day

sueño (2) m. (Noun) "dream"
12th cent. From Latin somnium 'id.' From Proto-Italic *swepnjo- or *swopnjo- "dream." From Proto-Indo-European *su̯épno- or *su̯opno- "sleep" (also the origin of the other meaning of sueño) and *-i̯o-, a putative nominal derivational ending of unclear meaning. See soñar for further etymology.
Indo-European
Romance
Asturian suañu, Portuguese sonho, Galician soño, French songe, Italian sogno, Sardinian sónniu

The -ium in somnium has an unclear history. It is not clear whether is was added during a pre-Latin period (for reasons unknown) or in Proto-Indo-European as an i̯o-derivation, if such a derivation truly existed. The i̯o-derivation may be an i-stem with a thematic vowel (see Meier-Brügger et al., 2003).

Corominas, J. & J. Pascual. Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e híspanico. 6 vols. Madrid: Gredos. 1991-1997.
de Vaan, M. Etymological Dictionary of Latin and Other Italic Languages. BRILL. 2014.
Real Academia Española. Diccionario de la lengua española. Online. 23rd ed. Madrid: Espasa Calpa. 2014. http://www.rae.es/.
Sihler, A. New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin. Oxford University Press. 2008.

12 August 2019 - Update 3.92

Final updates in preparation for a particularly large data update coming at the end of the month.

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The Online Etymological Dictionary of Spanish is a free etymological dictionary of the Spanish language launched on August 6, 2016. An etymology is not a definition but a history of a word over time. This site provides an account of the development of the Spanish language as best as historical linguists are able to ascertain in a way that is accessible both by laymen and academics. If you enjoy using this dictionary, please consider donating to help keep this site alive.