English
section
Section comes from Latin sectiō ‘cutting, cutting off, excision, amputation of…’, from secō ‘to cut’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaō‘to cut’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecōas secāre, past participle‘to cut’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsectus‘cut’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsectiō‘cutting’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400section
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500seccioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1959section
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaō‘to cut’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecōas secāre, past participle‘to cut’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsectus‘cut’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsectiō‘cutting’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400section
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500seccioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1959section
Earliest quotation: 1959, Clacton and Walton Electrification: “Overlap spans and neutral sections have been provided at…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’
saw, design, sign, ship, seal, sack, scarlet, sawyer, sax, shingle, scythe, sich, sigil, sedge, sain, desiccant, desiccation, 60 more
through Proto-Italic *sekaō ‘to cut’
sexuality, homosexual, 19 more
through Latin secō ‘to cut’
risk, sex, sexual, segment, sickle, het, insect, dissect, brassica, seg, 21 more
Today it means
noun A cutting; a part cut out from the rest of something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sek- / section