"S" Word Origins

S and M

English

An initialism of sadism and masochism, the two halves of sadomasochism.

Saab

Swedish

An acronym of the Swedish company name Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, "Swedish Aeroplane Company."

saad

Arabic

From the Arabic letter ص (ṣ).

SaaS

English

An acronym of software as a service.

saba

Origin

Alternative form of sapa.

Saban

Origin

Formed from the island name Saba plus the suffix "-an."

sabbatarian

Origin

From Medieval Latin sabbatarius, from Latin sabbatum, from Ancient Greek σάββατον (sábbaton), from Hebrew שבת (shabát) + -an. In use from c. 1610.

sabbatarianism

Origin

From Sabbatarian + -ism.

Sabbath

Latin

From Hebrew shabbat via Greek and Latin sabbatum, ultimately tied to a root meaning "to rest" or "to cease."

sabbatical

Latin

From Latin sabbaticus, ultimately from the same root as "Sabbath" — the idea of a period of rest built into a cycle.

sabbatism

Origin

Borrowed from Latin sabbatismus, from Ancient Greek.

Sabe

Origin

Borrowed from Ojibwe.

Sabina

Latin

From the Latin name Sabina, feminine form of Sabinus, referring to a member of the ancient Italian Sabine people.

Sabine

Latin

From Latin Sabinus, likely related to a root meaning "one's own" or "kin."

sable

Medieval Latin

From Old French sable, ultimately from a Slavic word for the animal, borrowed through Medieval Latin and Middle Low German as the fur trade carried the word westward.

sabot

Origin

Early 17th century, borrowed from Middle French sabot (see French sabot below). Doublet of sabaton and ciabatta.

sabotage

French

Borrowed directly from French sabotage, itself from saboter — traditionally linked to sabot, a wooden clog, from the old idea of workers wrecking machinery with their clogs.

saboteur

French

From French saboteur, the agent noun of saboter, "to sabotage" — related to sabot, a clog.

sabre

French

Borrowed from French sabre, tracing back through German Säbel to Hungarian szablya.

sabreur

Origin

Borrowed from French sabreur.

Saburo

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese さぶろう (Saburō).

sac

Latin

From Latin saccus ("bag"), the same root that gives us "sack."

saccade

Origin

Borrowed from French saccade.

saccharine

Greek

Via Latin saccharum from Greek sakkharon "sugar", ultimately from Sanskrit sarkara.

sacerdotal

Origin

From Middle English sacerdotale, from Old French sacerdotal, from Latin sacerdōtālis (“priestly”).

Sacha

French

Borrowed from French Sacha.

sachem

Origin

Borrowed from Narragansett sachem; compare Mi'kmaq saqamaw (“chief”) and Unami sakima (“chief”), all ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *sa·kima·wa. Doublet of sagamore.

sachet

Origin

Unadapted borrowing from French sachet.

Sachiko

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese さちこ (Sachiko).

Sachs

German

From the German surname Sachse, meaning "Saxon."

sack

Latin · 1800

From Old English sacc, ultimately from Latin saccus, "large bag," which itself came from Greek and possibly a Semitic source. The "fire someone" sense grew from 19th-century slang about a dismissed worker packing his tools into a sack.

sackless

Origin

From Middle English sakles, sacless (“innocent”), from Old English saclēas (“free from charge, innocent, safe”), from Proto-Germanic *sakalausaz (“free from accusation”), equivalent to sake + -less. Cognate with Danish sagesløs (“blameless”), Swedish saklös (“blamesless”), Icelandic saklaus (“innocent”), Faroese sakleysur (“unoffending, innocent”). More at sake, -less.

sacrament

Latin

From Latin sacramentum, originally a soldier's oath of allegiance, later a sum deposited in a lawsuit — from sacer, "sacred."

Sacramento

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish sacramento, meaning "sacrament."

sacred

Middle English

From Middle English sacred, the past participle of sacren, "to make holy."

sacrifice

Latin

From Old French sacrifice, from Latin sacrificium, from sacer ("sacred") plus facere ("to make/do").

sacrificial

Latin

From Latin sacrificialis, from sacrificium ("sacrifice").

sacrilege

Latin

From Old French sacrilege, from Latin sacrilegium — originally referring to stealing sacred objects.

sacrilegious

Latin

From Latin sacrilegus, related to sacer ("sacred") and legere ("to gather/steal").

sacristan

Origin

From French sacristain, Late Latin sacrista, from Latin sacer. Doublet of sexton.

sacristanry

Origin

From sacristan + -ry.

sacristy

Medieval Latin

From Anglo-Norman sacrestie, from Medieval Latin sacristia.

sacrosanct

Latin

From Latin sacrosanctus, from sacer ("sacred") and sanctus ("holy, made sacred by oath").

sacrum

Origin

From Latin os sacrum (“holy bone”), a calque of Ancient Greek ἱερὸν ὀστέον (hieròn ostéon). Apparently so called either because the sacrum was the part of the animal offered in sacrifice or because of a putative belief that it is where a person's soul resides. A third explanation is that the term is a translation of Ancient Greek ἱερόν (hierón), which has two meanings: “holy, sacred”, and “big” — big being a more appropriate description of the sacrum — but compare.

sad

Old English

From Old English sæd, originally meaning "full" or "sated" — the modern sense of unhappiness developed later, via a stage meaning "serious" or "grave."

sada

Urdu

Borrowed from Urdu سادہ (sāda).

Sadako

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese さだこ (Sadako).

Sadat

Arabic

From Arabic سَادَات (sādāt), the plural of سَيِّد (sayyid, "master; Sayyid").