English
sax
Sax comes from Middle English sax ‘a knife (tool)’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sahsą‘stone chip, knife’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sahs‘dagger, knife’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150seax‘a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sax‘a knife (tool)’
- Englishtodaysax
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sahsą‘stone chip, knife’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sahs‘dagger, knife’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150seax‘a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sax‘a knife (tool)’
- Englishtodaysax
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’
sex, design, sign, risk, section, ship, sexual, saw, seal, segment, insect, scarlet, sack, sawyer, sickle, het, shingle, dissect, scythe, sich, seg, sedge, sigil, brassica, desiccation, desiccant, sain, 62 more
Today it means
noun A knife or sword; a dagger about 50 cm (20 inches) in length.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sek- / sax