Nyctalopia comes to us from the Latin word nyctalops, which means "suffering from night blindness." It is ultimately derived from the Greek word nyktalops, which was formed by combining the word for "night" ("nyx") with the words for "blind" and "eye" ("alaos" and "ōps," respectively). English speakers have been using "nyctalopia" to refer to reduced vision in faint light or at night since the 17th century. We added the somewhat more pedestrian "night blindness" to the lexicon in the 18th century.
New Latin, from Latin nyctalops suffering from night blindness, from Greek nyktalops, from nykt-, nyx night + alaos blind + ōp-, ōps eye — more at night, eye
