all-night

The compound adjective "all-night" is a transparent formation from two native English elements. "All" derives from the Proto-Germanic allaz, carrying the sense of completeness, which evolved into the Old English intensifier eall. "Night" originates from the Proto-Germanic nahts, itself from the Proto-Indo-European nókʷts, a fundamental term for the dark part of the daily cycle. The compound logically combines these concepts, with "all" acting as a universal quantifier applied directly to "night," to create a descriptive term meaning "encompassing the entire night" or "occurring through the whole night." This straightforward morphological process reflects a common pattern in English for creating time-related descriptors.

Structure: all (entire) + night (period of darkness) - all: From Old English eall, meaning "entire, whole, every." It functions as an intensifier or quantifier in compound adjectives. - night: From Old English niht, meaning "the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise." It functions as the core noun specifying the time period.