English
sedative
Sedative comes from Medieval Latin sēdātīvus ‘calming, allaying’, from Latin sedeō ‘to sit, to be seated’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēō‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeō‘to sit, to be seated’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēdō‘to allay, settle, still, calm, assuage or appease’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sēdātīvus‘calming, allaying’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400sedatif
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sedatif
- Englishearliest quotation 2011sedative
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēō‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeō‘to sit, to be seated’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēdō‘to allay, settle, still, calm, assuage or appease’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sēdātīvus‘calming, allaying’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400sedatif
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sedatif
- Englishearliest quotation 2011sedative
Earliest quotation: 2011, Alan Duke, Michael Jackson gave himself fatal overdose, expert says: “Michael Jackson probably died after he rapidly injected himself…”
Equivalent to sedate + -ive
Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
…
Latin sedeō
Latin sēdō ‘to allay, appease, calm, settle’
Latin sēdātus ‘calm, quiet, composed’
Middle English sedate ‘not painful or sore’
English sedate
The story
Inherited from Middle English sedatif, from Anglo-Norman sedatif, from Medieval Latin sēdātīvus, which itself likely influenced the modern spelling.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
set, sit, method, sell, chair, sitting, seat, settle, nest, niche, possess, saddle, exodus, subsidy, nye, prasad, soot, beset, anode, cathode, setter, chaise, besiege, sate, salo, ersatz, nias, polyhedron, nidal, 81 more
through Proto-Italic *sedēō ‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’
possession, obsession, assessor, presidente, assize, 24 more
through Latin sedeō ‘to sit, to be seated’
president, size, session, resident, siege, assess, reside, residue, residual, insidious, dissident, sediment, sedan, sedentary, obsess, possessive, presidio, presidium, séance, sessile, seance, 28 more
Today it means
noun An agent or drug that sedates, having a calming or soothing effect, or inducing sleep.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / sedative