Have you ever noticed that the word "tomorrow" has three O's, and yet, each one is pronounced differently?
Two. Mar. Oh.
Or, possibly:
Two. More. Ohh.
What’s going on here?
Old English
Two words in Old English make up “tomorrow” (I’m simplifying a bit here, but not much): “to” and “morrow.”
“To” is the same word, and it means basically the same in Old English. “Morrow” wasn’t originally used, but instead, “morgen” or “morwen” were. “The morning to come” or “the next day” was the intended meaning.
By the Middle English period, the word had shifted to forms like "to-morwe" or "to-morow," already getting closer to our current "tomorrow." Why? The hard “G” sound is tough to say, and this is pretty much always the way language evolves: toward the lazy.
This is phonological evolution. This is the sort of simplification you can find everywhere, with extra syllables eventually being dropped when they’re no longer needed. “Cannot” becomes “can’t”, “What’s up?” becomes “Sup?”, and “Probably” becomes “prolly” in common speech.
But where did those Old English words come from?
Proto-Germanic
Let’s rewind the historical tape a bit more.
“To” is a remarkably stable word, remaining pretty much the same for thousands of years. Proto-Germanic is the common ancestor of all Germanic languages, including English, German, and Swedish.
The Old English "morgen" derived from the Proto-Germanic "murganaz." This mouthful was obviously a great candidate for phonological simplification—laziness is the way. So, “to” stayed “to”, and “murganaz” morphed into “morgen”, which became “morrow” gradually.
But what about “murganaz”?
Proto-Indo-European
If we go even further back, we enter the realm of Proto-Indo-European (PIE), a reconstructed language that serves as the common ancestor for a vast family of languages, from English and French to Hindi and Russian.
More people in the world today speak a descendent of PIE than any other language family.
Finally, our old friend “to” has some evolutionary secrets to share about its origin. PIE seems to have had a preposition "de," "do," or "du," which had meanings related to directionality, like 'to' or 'toward.' Over several thousand years, PIE’s “de” became " Proto-Germanic’s “to.”
“Murganaz”, the Proto-Germanic precursor to “morrow”, breaks down into “mur-” or “mer-” and “ganaz.” “Mer” meant “to sparkle.” It seems like no giant mental leap to imagine that this was indicative of the sunrise.
“Ganaz”, on the other hand, acts more like a suffix, and it probably didn’t come from PIE. In this case, it helps to turn the general concept of sparkling light into a concrete term for morning.
I love that we can peer back in time, reconstructing languages that are no longer spoken, simply by following the phonological trail.
Finding Wonder
Wonder is out there in the everyday world. There’s so much to be curious about out there! I like to knock my socks off at least once a day by diving into something like this. This is curiosity for curiosity’s sake.
The next time use the word “tomorrow” in conversation, remember that every syllable is a time capsule of sorts. And: this is true for every single word.
If you’re interested in further reading or listening, I have enjoyed several books by John McWhorter, a likeable linguist. Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue on Audible is the most recent one for me, but there are tons of great books on the evolution of language out there, in case you’re curious.
Are there any words you’ve noticed shortening in your own lifetime? Slang counts too, and it often becomes an official part of the language over time, gradually evolving into use by governments and textbooks. Let me know what you’ve noticed.
PS: I wrote about language yesterday a bit as well, but from a more Star-Trek-oriented perspective. Here’s that piece in case you want to read that next:
These newsletters are always a fun learning experience
I've always wondered why the three 'O's in tomorrow get pronounced differently. This article provides clues to the puzzle.