"S" Word Origins

sententious

Origin

From Latin sententiōsus, from sententia (“opinion, purpose”).

sentience

Origin

From sentient, from Latin sentiēns, present participle of sentiō (“feel, sense”). Compare with sentence, its equivalent formation from Classic Latin sententia (for *sentientia).

sentient

Latin

From Latin sentiens, "feeling, perceiving," the present participle of sentiō.

sentiment

Latin

From Old French sentement, from Latin sentimentum, related to sentiō, "to feel."

sentimental

Origin

From sentiment + the adjective-forming suffix -al.

sentimentality

Origin

From sentimental + the noun-forming suffix -ity.

sentinel

Latin · 1570

First recorded in the 1570s, from Middle French sentinelle, ultimately from Italian sentire, "to perceive or watch," from Latin sentiō, "to feel."

sentry

Origin

Origin uncertain; possibly an alteration of "sentinel."

Seo

Korean

From Korean 서 (Seo); cognate with English Xu, from Mandarin.

Seong

Origin

Borrowed from Korean 성 (seong).

Seoul

Korean

Borrowed from Korean 서울 (Seoul), literally "capital city."

sepal

Origin

From French sépale, from New Latin sepalum.

separate

Latin

From Latin separatus, past participle of separo, "to separate," from se- ("apart") + paro ("prepare").

separation

Latin

From Latin separatio, from separo, "to separate."

separationist

Origin

From separation + -ist.

separatist

Origin

From separate + the noun-forming suffix -ist.

separatrix

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin sēparātrīx, the feminine form of separator (originally owing to an implied līnea (“line”)), from sēparāre (“to divide; to separate”) + -trix (forming female agents). By surface analysis, separate + -trix. First developed as a decimal mark among the medieval Arab mathematicians, whence a shorter variant gave rise to the decimal comma employed by many European countries and their former colonies.

sepia

Origin

Borrowed from Latin sēpia (“cuttlefish”), from Ancient Greek σηπία (sēpía). Cognate with Italian seppia, Portuguese siba, and Spanish sepia.

seppuku

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese seppuku, from characters meaning "to cut" and "belly."

sepsis

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek sêpsis, "putrefaction," from sḗpō, "to make rotten."

sept

Latin

A altered form of "sect," shaped by the Latin word saeptum, meaning "fence" or "enclosure."

September

Latin

From Latin September, based on septem ("seven") — it was the seventh month in the old Roman calendar before January and February were added to the start of the year.

septentrional

Origin

Borrowed from Latin septentriōnālis, from septentriōnēs (“seven plow oxen”), a name for the constellations now known as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, which appear in the northern sky.

septic

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek σηπτικός (sēptikós, “characterized by putridity”), from σηπτός (sēptós), from σήπω (sḗpō).

septicemia

Origin

Borrowed from New Latin sēpticaemia, from Latin sēpticus + -aemia.

septimate

Origin

Latin septimus (“seventh”) + English -ate, after decimate; compare septimation

Septimus

Latin

From Latin septimus, meaning "seventh."

sepulchre

Origin

From Middle English sepulchre, sepulcre, sepulker, from late Old English sepulcer, Old French sepulchre, sepulcre, and their etymon Latin sepulchrum, sepulcrum (“grave, burial place”).

sepulture

Origin

From Middle English sepulture, sepultur, from Old French sepulture, from Latin sepultura.

sequel

Latin

From Old French sequelle, from Latin sequēla, from sequī, "to follow."

sequelae

Latin

Plural of Latin sequela 'that which follows, a consequence', from sequi 'to follow'.

sequence

Late Latin

From Old French sequence, from Late Latin sequentia, "a following," from Latin sequī, "to follow."

sequential

Latin

From Latin sequentia plus the suffix "-al."

sequester

Origin

From Middle English sequestren (verb) and sequestre (noun), from Old French sequestrer, from Late Latin sequestrō (“separate, give up for safekeeping”), from Latin sequester (“mediator, depositary”), probably originally meaning "follower", from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“follow”).

sequestration

Origin

From Middle French sequestration, from Late Latin sequestrātiō, from Latin sequestrō (“sequester”).

ser

Middle English

From Middle English ser. Popularised in modern fantasy by George R. R. Martin in the A Song of Ice and Fire series starting in 1996.

Sera

Hebrew

From Hebrew sará ("lady, princess"), itself derived from the name Sarai.

seraglio

Origin

From Italian serraglio, from Vulgar Latin *serrāculum, from a late form of Latin serāre (“lock up, close”), from sera (“lock, bolt”). The Italian word was used (because of phonetic similarity) to translate Turkish saray (“palace”). Compare serai, serail.

seraph

Origin

Back-formation of singular from plural seraphim, from Latin seraphim, from Biblical Hebrew שְׂרָפִים (sərāp̄īm), plural form of שָׂרָף (sārāp̄). The plural "seraphims" occurs in the King James Bible (Isaiah chapter 6). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the singular "seraph" may have originated with John Milton, who used it in Book I of Paradise Lost (1667).

seraphic

Origin

From Medieval Latin seraphicus, from Late Latin seraphīm, seraphīn, from Hebrew שָׂרָף (saráf, “seraph”). By surface analysis, seraph + -ic.

seraphim

Latin

From Biblical Hebrew śərāp̄îm, plural of śārāp̄ (possibly "fiery ones"), via Greek and Latin.

Serb

Proto-Slavic

From Serbo-Croatian Srbi, from Proto-Slavic sьrbъ ("ally, Serb").

Serbia

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin Serbia, from "Serb" plus the place-name suffix "-ia."

sere

Origin

From Middle English ser, sere, seare, seer, seere, seir, seyr (“dry, withered; emaciated, shrivelled; brittle; bare; dead, lifeless; barren, useless”), from Old English sēar, sīere (“dry, withered; barren; sere”), from Proto-West Germanic *sauʀ(ī), from Proto-Germanic *sauzaz (“dry, parched”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂sews-, *sh₂ews- (“to be dry”). Cognate with Dutch zoor (“dry and coarse”), Greek αὖος (ávos, “dry”), Lithuanian sausas (“dry”), Middle Low German sôr (Low German soor (“arid, dry”)), Old Church Slavonic соухъ (suχŭ, “dry”). Doublet of sear and sare.

serekh

Origin

Learned borrowing from Egyptian s-r:x-O33 (srḫ, “palace façade”).

Serena

Latin

From the Latin word serena, meaning "serene" or "calm," also linked to an early Christian saint of that name.

serenade

Latin

From French sérénade, from Italian serenata, ultimately from Latin serenus, "calm" — evoking a calm evening performance.

serendipity

Persian · 1754

Coined in 1754 by the writer Horace Walpole, based on an old Persian fairy tale, "The Three Princes of Serendip," whose heroes kept stumbling onto good fortune by accident.