Etymograph

English

sincerely

Sincerely comes from Latin sincērus ‘pure, clean, sound’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-‘one, whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*senkairosreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsincērus‘pure, clean, sound’
  4. Englishtodaysincerely

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-‘one, whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*senkairosreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsincērus‘pure, clean, sound’
  4. Englishtodaysincerely

Formed from sincere + -ly

Latin sincerus ‘genuine’

Middle French sincere

English sincere

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’

some, same, seem, single, similar, simple, simply, soft, sam, simulation, assemble, resemble, singular, simultaneous, anomaly, simulate, resemblance, anomalous, assimilate, homeopathic, semblance, synapse, homology, hyphen, simile, homolog, simulacrum, synchronise, sempre, 47 more

through Latin sincērus ‘pure, clean, sound’

insincere, 2 more

Today it means

adv In a sincere or earnest manner; honestly.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sem- / sincerely

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