'awaken' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'awæcnan' (or 'āwacan'), where the prefix 'a-' was an intensifier/locative element and the root 'wacan' meant 'to wake' or 'to arise'.

'awaken' changed from Old English 'awæcnan/āwacan' into Middle English forms such as 'awaken' and eventually became the modern English verb 'awaken'; the agent noun 'awakener' developed by adding the productive suffix '-er'.

Initially, it meant 'to rouse from sleep' and over time it broadened to include 'to rouse (emotion/awareness)'; the modern noun 'awakener' thus covers both literal and figurative agents that cause awakening.