Etymology
1. From Middle English alighten (“to descend from a place: to dismount, get off; to descend to a place: to arrive or stop (at a place); to land; to drop; to attack; of lightning: to strike; to leap on to, mount; to descend in rank; to cause (someone) to lose rank; to come forth, spring from; to alleviate, relieve; (Christianity) of Jesus: to come down to earth from heaven, become incarnate; to descend (to hell); of the Holy Spirit, angels, miracles, etc.: to descend (from heaven); to descend (upon someone); to appear in a place”) [and other forms], from a merger of:
2. * Old English ālīhtan (“to alight, dismount”), from ā- (prefix meaning ‘away, from, off, out’) + līhtan, līehtan (“to descend, alight, light; to make easy or light, alleviate, lighten, relieve”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- (“not heavy, light”); and
3. * Old English ġelīhtan (“to descend; to come down, dismount; to make easy or light, alleviate, lighten, relieve”), from ġe- (intensifying prefix, attached to verbs to indicate completeness or perfection) + līhtan, līehtan (see above).
4. The English word is analyzable as a- (prefix meaning ‘away, from, off, out’) + light (“to ease, lighten; to take off; to unload; to dismount; (archaic) to come down, land; to dismount”).
5. Cognates
6. * Middle Low German erlichten (“to lighten”)
7. * Old High German gilīhten (“to make less heavy, lighten”) (Middle High German gelīhten); Old High German irlīhten (“to alleviate”) (Middle High German erlīhten, modern German erleichten) See: Middle High German '
gelīhten', Middle High German '
erlīhten', German, old spelling '
erleichten'.