Awaken
/əˈweɪkən/noun
To stop sleeping or to cause someone or something to stop sleeping.
Did you know?Awaken is an old English causative form built from wake, so it literally meant “make awake,” and in older texts it could feel almost like a magical restoration of life or awareness.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weg-
“to be strong, be lively, be awake”
Old English
Old English
wacan
“to become awake, arise”
Old English
Old English
awæcnian
“to awaken, rouse, bring to wakefulness”
Middle English
English
awaknen
“to wake up, rouse from sleep”
Modern English
English
awaken
“to stop sleeping or cause to stop sleeping”