English
sift
Sift comes from Middle English syften ‘to sift, strain, or percolate’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *siftijan.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*siftijan‘to sift’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150siftan‘to sift’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500syften‘to sift, strain, or percolate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595sift
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*siftijan‘to sift’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150siftan‘to sift’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500syften‘to sift, strain, or percolate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595sift
Earliest quotation: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “As neere as I could ſift him on that…”
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *siftijan
Today it means
verb To sieve or strain (something).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *siftijan / sift