English
second
Second comes from Latin secundus ‘following, next in order’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-‘to follow’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷondo-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecundus‘following’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400second
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500secunde
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598second
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-‘to follow’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷondo-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecundus‘following’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400second
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500secunde
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598second
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “A Daniel ſtill ſay I, a ſecond Daniel,[…]”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’
say, see, social, saw, society, suit, executive, sight, associate, pursue, sue, subsequent, sequence, saga, sequel, execute, prosecution, consecutive, consequently, intrinsic, persecution, sequential, sect, ensue, executor, dissociation, sequestration, extrinsic, consequent, dissociate, persecute, sequester, segue, sequitur, seg, 34 more
Another origin of second
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷondo-literally ‘that follows’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecundus‘favorable’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500secunda
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400seconde
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500secunde‘an angular unit equal to a sixtieth of an angular minute’
- Englishtodaysecond
Another origin of second
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecundō‘assist, make favorable’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600seconder
- Englishtodaysecond
Today it means
adj Number-two; following after the first one with nothing between them. The ordinal number corresponding to the cardinal number two.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- / second