Awake
/əˈweɪk/noun
To stop sleeping or become alert; also, to awaken or rouse.
Did you know?Awake comes from Old English *awācian*, a causative/intensive form built on the same root as *wake*, so the word originally meant not just “be awake” but “cause oneself or others to wake.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wegʷ-
“to be strong, lively, wakeful”
Old English
OE
awācian
“to wake up; become awake”
Middle English
ME
awake(n)
“to awaken; be no longer asleep”
Modern English
English
awake
“to stop sleeping or become alert”