Where does “sergeant” come from?
Sergeant comes from Middle English sergeant, from Old French serjant, from Latin servientem, the accusative of serviens, meaning "serving," derived from servus meaning "slave" or "servant," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ser-wo-.
sergeant (English): UK army rank with NATO code OR-6, senior to...
Definitions
- UK army rank with NATO code OR-6, senior to...
Ancestry of “sergeant”, step by step
sergeant traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Russian сержант
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian | сержант | sergeant |
| 2 | Polish | sierżant | sergeant |
| 3 | French | sergent | sergeant |
| 4 | Middle French | sergent | — |
| 5 | Old French | serjant | a military rank, roughly equivalent to sergeant |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | serviens | a servant, vassal, soldier, apparitor; serving;... |
| 7 | Latin | serviēns | serving, (as a servant or slave) |
| 8 | Latin | serviō | to be a slave to; to serve |
| 9 | Latin | servus | a servant; a serf; a slave |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | serwos | guardian |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ser-wo-s | guardian |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ser- | to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together |
via Middle English sergeant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sergeant | — |