Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sect” come from?

Sect derives from Middle English secte, from Old French secte, from Late Latin secta, ultimately from Latin sequī meaning "to follow," tracing back through Proto-Italic sekʷōr to the Proto-Indo-European root sekʷ-.

sect (English): An offshoot of a larger religion; a group sharing...

Definitions

  1. An offshoot of a larger religion; a group sharing...

Ancestry of “sect”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishsecteA variety or sort; a category with a...
2Old Frenchsectea sect in philosophy or religion
3Late Latinsectaa sect in philosophy or religion, a school,...
4Latinsequipresent active infinitive of sequor; follow, come...
5LatinsequorI follow, come or go after
6Proto-Italicsekʷōrfollow, come/go after
7Proto-Indo-Europeansékʷetorto be following
8Proto-Indo-Europeansekʷ-to follow; to see; to say

Words derived from “sect”

  • set
  • onset
  • offset
  • outset
  • setup
  • subset
  • reset
  • mindset
  • preset
  • Reset
  • handset
  • typeset
  • headset
  • sett
  • sept
  • heavyset
  • recordset
  • thickset
  • itemset
  • frameset
  • toolset
  • superset
  • unset
  • multiset
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sekʷ- →