Etymograph

English

Severn

Severn comes from Middle English Severne, and goes back to Proto-Celtic *Sabrinā.

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*Sabrināreconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150Sæfern
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Severne
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1850Severn

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*Sabrināreconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150Sæfern
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Severne
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1850Severn

Earliest quotation: 1850, [Alfred, Canto XIX: “There twice a day the Severn fills, ⁠The salt…”

The story

From Middle English Severne, from Old English Sæfern, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *Sabrinā (compare Welsh Hafren), perhaps from *samaros (‘summer fallow’).

Every English word from Proto-Celtic *Sabrinā

Today it means

name A river in England and Wales that flows into the Bristol Channel.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Celtic *Sabrinā / Severn

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