English
sake
Sake comes from Middle English sake ‘sake, cause’, from Proto-West Germanic *saku ‘accusation, charge’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- ‘to investigate’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂g-‘to investigate’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sakō‘affair’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*saku‘accusation’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sacu‘cause’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sake‘sake’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂g-‘to investigate’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sakō‘affair’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*saku‘accusation’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sacu‘cause’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sake‘sake’
- Englishearliest quotation 1526same form
Earliest quotation: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Ne ãd except thoſe dayes ſhulde be ſhoꝛtened /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- ‘to investigate’
seek, soc, hegemony, beseech, saya, hegemon, sagittal, presage, sagacity, 19 more
through Proto-West Germanic *saku ‘accusation, charge’
Today it means
noun Cause, interest or account.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- / sake