Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “song” come from?

Song comes from Old English sang, from Proto-Germanic sangwaz, from Proto-Indo-European sengʷʰ-, a root of uncertain ultimate meaning that developed into the modern sense of a musical composition.

song (English): A musical composition with lyrics for voice or...

Definitions

  1. A musical composition with lyrics for voice or...

Ancestry of “song”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Thaiสอง2
2Proto-Taisoːŋᴬ—
3Middle Chinese雙—

Words derived from “song”

  • songwriter
  • songwriting
  • singsong
  • birdsong
  • songbird
  • evensong
  • plainsong
  • songless
  • undersong
  • songlike
  • songy
  • songfest
  • songcraft
  • songline
  • subsong
  • midsong
  • pricksong
  • songsmith
  • heartsong
  • songman
  • songsheet
  • whalesong
  • playsong
  • songlet
Every word from Middle Chinese 雙 →