u/EmergencyArm4610

The first known use of "soon" was before the 12th century. It comes from the Middle English "sone," which itself came from the Old English "sona," meaning "at once, immediately, directly, forthwith."

This traces back to the Proto-Germanic "sæno," which also gave us similar words in Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old High German, and Gothic. The meaning relaxed in early Middle English to simply mean "within a short time," much like the words "anon" and "just" went through a similar shift.

I hope this helps everyone.