English
assess
Assess comes from Latin assessus ‘seated beside one’, from assideō ‘to sit by or near someone or something’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sedéh₁yetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēō‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeō‘to sit, to be seated’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEassideō‘to sit by or near someone or something’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEassessus‘seated beside one’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500assessare
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400assesser
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500assessen
- Englishearliest quotation 1984assess
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sedéh₁yetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēō‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeō‘to sit, to be seated’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEassideō‘to sit by or near someone or something’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEassessus‘seated beside one’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500assessare
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400assesser
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500assessen
- Englishearliest quotation 1984assess
Earliest quotation: 1984, Christine Guilfoy, Three Seneca Women Get 89 Days in Jail: “Judge Cohen ruled that Blacklock, McKenzie and Benschop must…”
A compound of ad ‘to, towards, at’ + sedeō ‘sit’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ‘near, at’
Proto-Italic *ad ‘toward, to, on, up to, for’
Latin ad ‘to, towards, at’
Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
Proto-Indo-European *sed-éh₁-ye-ti
Proto-Italic *sedēō ‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’
Latin sedeō ‘sit’
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
set, sit, sitting, method, chair, sell, seat, settle, niche, saddle, nest, exodus, subsidy, nye, possess, cathode, soot, anode, prasad, setter, sate, beset, chaise, ersatz, salo, besiege, nidal, polyhedron, nias, 81 more
through Proto-Italic *sedēō ‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’
possession, obsession, presidente, 24 more
through Latin sedeō ‘to sit, to be seated’
president, size, resident, session, siege, reside, residual, residue, sedan, insidious, sediment, sedentary, dissident, sedative, possessive, sedate, presidio, séance, presidium, obsess, seance, sessile, 26 more
through Latin assideō ‘to sit by or near someone or something’
Today it means
verb To determine, estimate or judge the value of; to evaluate; to estimate.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / assess