English
consign
Consign may come from Middle French consigner.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600consigneruncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1650consign
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600consigneruncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1650consign
Earliest quotation: 1650, Jeremy Taylor, Devotions for ordinary days: “Ennoble my ſoul with great degrees of love to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’
saw, sex, risk, ship, sexual, section, segment, sack, scarlet, insect, sawyer, sealing, sax, het, shingle, sickle, dissect, scythe, seg, sich, sedge, brassica, desiccation, desiccant, 49 more
through Proto-Italic *segnom ‘sign’
significant, seal, signal, significance, signify, insignia, ensign, signet, sigil, signification, 14 more
through Proto-Italic *segnāō
designation, assignation, 5 more
through Latin signō ‘mark, sign’
Today it means
verb To transfer to the custody of, usually for sale, transport, or safekeeping.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French consigner / consign