English
sage
Sage comes from Old French sage ‘wise’, and goes back to Vulgar Latin *sapium.
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*sapium‘wise’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sage‘wise’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sage‘a sage’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599sage
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*sapium‘wise’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sage‘wise’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sage‘a sage’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599sage
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth: “Harry the fift is crownd, vp vanitie, / Downe…”
Linked words
through Latin sapiō ‘to taste, to discern, to be wise’
savvy, sapiens, savory, insipid, savour, savant, sapient, sabe, 13 more
Another origin of sage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-‘whole’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*salawos‘whole’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalvus‘healthy’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalvia‘sage (the plant)’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400salje
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sauge
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sauge
- Englishtodaysage
Another origin of sage
- Japanesemodern下げるsageru‘to lower’
- Japanese, derivedmodernsagesage
- Englishtodaysage
Today it means
adj Wise.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Vulgar Latin *sapium / sage