Wake
/weɪk/noun
To stop sleeping, or a vigil held around a dead person before burial.
Did you know?The noun sense of wake survives in the old funeral vigil, where communities literally stayed awake over the dead before burial, blending grief, prayer, and a kind of protective magic.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wegʰ-
“To be strong, lively, or active”
Old English
OE
wacan
“To become awake, arise, or spring up”
Old English
OE
wacu
“A watch, vigil, or religious observance”
Middle English
ME
waken
“To awake, rouse, or keep watch”
Modern English
English
wake
“To cease sleeping; also, a vigil for the dead”