Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “seem” come from?

seem (Middle English) comes from Old English sēam, from Proto-West Germanic saum, from Late Latin sauma, from Latin sagma, from Ancient Greek σάγμα, from Ancient Greek σάττω, from Proto-Indo-European twenk- — to press, squeeze; to squeeze, press, pressure.

Ancestry of “seem”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishsēamseam; a burden
2Proto-West Germanicsaumstitch, seam, hem, edge; a load, burden;...
3Late Latinsaumapacksaddle; burden saddle, burden
4Latinsagmasaddle
5Ancient GreekσάγμαA covering, a clothing; the covering of a shield;...
6Ancient Greekσάττωto stuff quite full, cram, pack; to press close,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeantwenk-to press, squeeze; to squeeze, press, pressure

Words derived from “seem”

  • seam
  • seme
  • polysemy
  • seamy
  • polysemic
  • seamline
  • inseam
  • semic
  • outseam
  • soam
  • polyseme
  • seaminess
  • unseam
  • polysemically
  • seamlike
  • enseam
  • sideseam
  • seamfree
  • seamhead
  • broadseam
Every word from Proto-Indo-European twenk- →