Where does “serious” come from?

Serious comes from Middle English seryows, from Old French serieux, from Medieval Latin seriosus, from Latin serius, from Proto-Indo-European swēr-.

serious (English): Without humor or expression of happiness; grave...

Definitions

  1. Without humor or expression of happiness; grave...

Ancestry of “serious”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishseryows—
2Old Frenchserieux—
3Medieval Latinseriosusserious
4Latinsēriusgrave; earnest; serious
5Latinsēruslate, too late
6Proto-Italicswerjos—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanswer-yo-s—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanswer-to ache; to fester; wound; injury

Words derived from “serious”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European swer- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European swer-yo-s →Every word from Proto-Italic swerjos →