Etymograph

English

sincere

Sincere comes from Latin sincerus ‘genuine’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsincerus‘genuine’
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sincere
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1837same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsincerus‘genuine’
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sincere
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1837same form

Earliest quotation: 1837, Thomas Carlyle, London: Chapman and Hall: “Tumid blustering, with more or less of sincerity, which…”

A compound of *sem- ‘together’ + *ḱer- ‘grow’

The story

Not from sine (‘without’) + cera (‘wax’), which is a folk etymology; see Wikipedia page.folk etymology The source marks this as unproven or a folk etymology. Quoted, not asserted.

Every English word from Latin sincerus

Today it means

adj Genuine, honest, and free from pretense or deceit; heartfelt.

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

Etymograph / Latin sincerus / sincere

Shirt and support for this word