Etymograph

English

sequester

Sequester comes from Late Latin sequestrō ‘separate, give up for safekeeping’, from Latin sequestrum ‘depository’, and ultimately from secus ‘otherwise, beside’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecus‘otherwise, beside’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequester‘mediator, depositary’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequestrum‘depository’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsequestrō‘separate, give up for safekeeping’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sequestrer
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sequestren
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604sequester

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecus‘otherwise, beside’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequester‘mediator, depositary’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequestrum‘depository’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsequestrō‘separate, give up for safekeeping’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sequestrer
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sequestren
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604sequester

Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice: “A sequester from liberty , fasting , and prayer”.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘follow’

say, see, second, social, saw, society, executive, suit, sight, associate, pursue, consecutive, sue, prosecution, saga, subsequent, execute, consequence, intrinsic, persecution, consequently, sect, executor, dissociation, sequential, ensue, extrinsic, consequent, persecute, dissociate, seg, segue, sequitur, 36 more

Today it means

verb To separate from all external influence; to seclude; to withdraw.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin secus / sequester

Shirt and support for this word