Where does “seek” come from?

Seek comes from Middle English seken, from Old English sēċan, meaning to go in search of or pursue.

seek (English): To try to find; to look for; to search for; To...

Definitions

  1. To try to find; to look for; to search for; To...

Ancestry of “seek”, step by step

seek traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English seke

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishsekeAlternative form of seken
2Old Englishsēċanto seek or inquire about
3Proto-West Germanicsōkijanto seek, to look for
4Proto-Germanicsōkijanąto seek, look for
5Proto-Indo-Europeanséh₂gyetito give a sign
6Proto-Indo-Europeanseh₂g-to seek out

via Chinese Mandarin 薛

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese Mandarin薛—

Words derived from “seek”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European seh₂g- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European séh₂gyeti →Every word from Proto-Germanic sōkijaną →