English
Saxon
Saxon comes from Proto-West Germanic *sahs ‘dagger, knife’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sahsą‘rock, knife’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sahs‘dagger, knife’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CESaxōnem
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400*Saxounreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*Seaxareconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Saxe
- Englishearliest quotation 1881Saxon
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sahsą‘rock, knife’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sahs‘dagger, knife’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CESaxōnem
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400*Saxounreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*Seaxareconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Saxe
- Englishearliest quotation 1881Saxon
Earliest quotation: 1881, John Kirby Hedges, The history of Wallingford: “Kenett states that the military works still known by…”
The story
Partially from Middle English Saxe, Sax; from Old English *Seaxa (attested in plural Seaxan), and Saxoun, from Old French *Saxoun, Saxon (‘Saxon’), from Late Latin Saxōnem, accusative of Saxō (‘a Saxon’), both from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (‘rock, knife’), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (‘to cut’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’
sex, design, sign, risk, saw, ship, sexual, section, seal, segment, insect, scarlet, sack, sawyer, sickle, het, shingle, dissect, scythe, sich, seg, sedge, sigil, brassica, desiccant, desiccation, sain, 62 more
through Proto-West Germanic *sahs ‘dagger, knife’
Today it means
noun A member of an ancient West Germanic tribe that lived at the eastern North Sea coast and south of it.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sek- / Saxon