Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “sellen” come from?

sellen (Middle English) comes from Old English sellan, from Proto-West Germanic salljan, from Proto-Germanic saljaną, from Proto-Indo-European selh₁- — to take.

Ancestry of “sellen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishsellanto give; to give up for money; betray
2Proto-West Germanicsalljanto give, to hand over
3Proto-Germanicsaljanąto offer, to give
4Proto-Indo-Europeanselh₁-to take

Words derived from “sellen”

  • sell
  • resell
  • reseller
  • undersell
  • sellout
  • sellable
  • selleth
  • outsell
  • oversell
  • upsell
  • unsellable
  • sellest
  • presell
  • sellsword
  • sellback
  • sellee
  • unsell
  • sellability
  • resellable
  • onsell
  • underseller
  • selldown
  • mis-sell
  • missell
Every word from Proto-Indo-European selh₁- →