English
semblant
Semblant comes from French semblant, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-‘one, whole’root as named · steps between not traced
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsemblant
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-‘one, whole’root as named · steps between not traced
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsemblant
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto I: “But vnder simple shew and semblant plaine / Lurckt…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’
some, same, single, simple, simply, similar, soft, sam, seem, sincerely, simulation, singular, simultaneous, sincerity, anomaly, simulate, resemble, assemble, assimilate, homeopathic, anomalous, resemblance, homology, insincere, hyphen, synapse, simile, homolog, simulacrum, synchronise, sempre, 46 more
Today it means
noun One's outward appearance.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sem- / semblant