English
obsess
Obsess comes from Latin obsessus ‘besieged, blockaded’, from sedeō ‘to sit’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-éh₁-ye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēō‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeō‘to sit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsideō‘sit on or in, remain, besiege’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsessus‘besieged, blockaded’perfect passive participle of obsideō
- Englishearliest quotation 2014obsess
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*sed-éh₁-ye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēō‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeō‘to sit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsideō‘sit on or in, remain, besiege’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsessus‘besieged, blockaded’perfect passive participle of obsideō
- Englishearliest quotation 2014obsess
Earliest quotation: 2014, Magician’s brain: “The [Isaac] Newton that emerges from the [unpublished] manuscripts…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
set, sit, sitting, method, chair, sell, seat, settle, niche, nest, saddle, exodus, subsidy, nye, possess, prasad, cathode, soot, anode, 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, presidente, assessor, assize, 24 more
through Latin sedeō ‘to sit’
president, size, resident, session, siege, reside, residual, residue, sedan, assess, insidious, sediment, sedentary, dissident, sedative, possessive, sedate, presidio, séance, presidium, seance, sessile, 27 more
Today it means
verb To be preoccupied with a single topic or emotion.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / obsess