'lightwell' originates from English, specifically the compound of the words 'light' and 'well', where 'light' derives from Old English 'līht' meaning 'light' and 'well' derives from Old English 'wella' meaning 'spring' or 'stream' (extended to mean a shaft or well).

'lightwell' changed from earlier English compound uses combining 'light' and 'well' (with 'well' in the sense of a vertical source or shaft) and eventually became the modern English word 'lightwell'.

Initially it carried the literal sense of a 'well' or source of light ('well of light'); over time it evolved into the architectural sense of a vertical shaft or court designed to admit daylight into a building.