Etymograph

English

sapling

Sapling comes from Old English sæp ‘sap’, from Proto-West Germanic *sap ‘juice’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sep- ‘to taste, to try out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sep-‘to taste, to try out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sap‘juice’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sæp‘sap’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sap
  5. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500saplyng
  6. Englishtodaysapling

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sep-‘to taste, to try out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sap‘juice’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150sæp‘sap’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sap
  5. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500saplyng
  6. Englishtodaysapling

Formed from sap + -ling

Proto-Indo-European *sap-

Proto-West Germanic *sap ‘sap, juice’

Old English sæp ‘juice, sap’

Middle English sap

English sap

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sep- ‘to taste, to try out’

savory, sepulchre, savour, insipid, 14 more

through Old English sæp ‘sap’

sappy

through Middle English sap

sap

Today it means

noun A young tree, larger than a seedling.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sep- / sapling

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