English
sergeant
Sergeant comes from Old French sergeant, from Latin serviēns ‘serving’, and ultimately from serviō ‘serve, be a slave to’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEserviō‘serve, be a slave to’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEserviēns‘serving’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500servientem
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sergeant
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sergeant
- Englishearliest quotation 1765–1769sergeant
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEserviō‘serve, be a slave to’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEserviēns‘serving’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500servientem
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sergeant
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sergeant
- Englishearliest quotation 1765–1769sergeant
Earliest quotation: 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England: “All other sergeants and barristers indiscriminately (except in the…”
The story
The shift from /vj/ > /dʒ/ was a regular development in Old French. The fish is so called because of its stripes, supposed to resemble a sergeant's insignia of rank. The pronunciation with /ɑɹ/ is due to a widespread development of Middle English er + consonant (see barn, start etc.). In sergeant, the spelling was standardised in one way, the pronunciation in another (compare clerk, derby in Commonwealth English, further parson vs. person, and varsity vs. university).
Linked words
through Latin serviō ‘serve, be a slave to’
Today it means
noun A UK army rank with NATO code OR-6, senior to corporal and junior to warrant officer ranks.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin serviō / sergeant