Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “hearsay” come from?

Hearsay comes from Middle English heren seien, a phrase combining heren meaning "to hear" and seien meaning "to say."

hearsay (English): Information that was heard by one person about...

Definitions

  1. Information that was heard by one person about...

Ancestry of “hearsay”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishhyere-zigginge—
2Middle Englishheren seiento hear say
Every word from Middle English heren seien →