Etymograph

English

singe

Singe comes from Middle English sengen ‘to burn, scorch’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *senk-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*senk-‘to burn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sangijan‘to burn, torch’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150senġan‘to singe, burn slightly, scorch, afflict’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sengen‘to burn, scorch’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1702singe

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*senk-‘to burn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sangijan‘to burn, torch’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150senġan‘to singe, burn slightly, scorch, afflict’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sengen‘to burn, scorch’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1702singe

Earliest quotation: 1702, Sir Roger L’Estrange, The First Viſion of the Algouazil (or Catchpole) Poſſest: “made combustible by Flame They treat of, we have…”

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *senk-

Today it means

verb To burn slightly.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *senk- / singe

Shirt and support for this word