Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “see” come from?

See derives from Middle English seen, from Old English sēon, from Latin sedes meaning "seat," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sed- meaning "to sit."

see (English): To perceive or detect someone or something with...

Definitions

  1. To perceive or detect someone or something with...

Ancestry of “see”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishseento see
2Old Englishsēonto be; to filter; to see, look, behold, perceive,...
3Proto-West Germanicsehwanto see
4Proto-Germanicsehwanąto see
5Proto-Indo-Europeansekʷ-to follow; to see; to say

Words derived from “see”

  • seeing
  • seer
  • sightseeing
  • unseeing
  • farseeing
  • unseeingly
  • sightseer
  • seeress
  • seeable
  • seership
  • missee
  • unsee
  • resee
  • outsee
  • farseer
  • nonseeing
  • seeingly
  • insee
  • farsee
  • all-seeingness
  • seest
  • all-seeing
  • must-see
  • undersee
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sekʷ- →