'awoken' ultimately derives from Old English elements related to 'awake'. The base verb 'awake' originates from Old English 'awacan' (also written 'āwacan'), where the prefix 'a-' meant 'on, in' and 'wacan' meant 'to wake'.

'awoken' developed as the past participle form of the verb that in Middle English appeared as 'awaken'/'awake(n)'; the Old English 'awacan' evolved through Middle English forms (such as 'awaken' or 'awake') into the modern past participle 'awoken'.

Initially it meant 'to arise, to wake up'; over time this developed into the modern sense of 'having stopped sleeping' or 'having been roused', which is preserved in current use.