Where does “seldom” come from?

seldom (Middle English) comes from Old English seldan, from Proto-Germanic seldana, from Proto-Germanic seldanē, from Proto-Germanic seldanaz — rare, strange.

seldom (Middle English): Alternative form of selden; uncommon

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of selden; uncommon

Ancestry of “seldom”, step by step

seldom traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English seldan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishseldanseldom, rarely
2Proto-Germanicseldana—
3Proto-Germanicseldanēseldom; rarely
4Proto-Germanicseldanazrare, strange

via Middle English selden

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishseldennot often, uncommonly, almost never; uncommon,...
2Old Englishseldenrare, infrequent; few

Words derived from “seldom”

Every word from Proto-Germanic seldanaz →