Where does “seax” come from?

seax (English) comes from Old English seax, from Proto-West Germanic sahs, from Proto-Germanic sahsą, from Proto-Indo-European sek- — to cut, cut off, sever.

seax (English): A short Saxon sword

Definitions

  1. A short Saxon sword

Ancestry of “seax”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishseaxknife, dagger
2Proto-West Germanicsahsdagger, knife
3Proto-Germanicsahsąa stone chip used for cutting; dagger, knife
4Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sek- →Every word from Proto-Germanic sahsą →Every word from Proto-West Germanic sahs →