The Spanish word 'anoche' meaning 'last night' comes from the Latin phrase 'hac nocte', which literally meant 'this night'. This Latin phrase combined two words: 'hac' (meaning 'this' in the feminine ablative case) and 'nocte' (meaning 'night' in the ablative case). Over time, as Latin evolved into Spanish, these two words fused together and underwent phonetic changes, with 'hac nocte' eventually becoming 'anoche'.

This evolution shows how Spanish often compressed Latin phrases into single words, while also demonstrating how the meaning slightly shifted from 'this night' to specifically mean 'last night' in modern Spanish.

The Spanish word 'noche' meaning 'night' is directly related to 'anoche', as it comes from the same Latin word 'nocte'. Understanding this connection can help learners remember that 'anoche' is essentially 'a-' (from Latin 'hac' meaning 'this') combined with 'noche' (night), literally 'this night' → 'last night'.

While English 'night' is related to Spanish 'anoche', they come from different branches of the Indo-European language family. However, English has several scientific and literary words derived from the same Latin root 'noct-', such as 'nocturnal' (active at night), 'equinox' (equal night), and 'noctilucent' (glowing at night). These connections can help English speakers remember the meaning of 'anoche'.