Where does “sex” come from?

sex (Middle English) comes from Middle English six, from Old English six, from Proto-West Germanic sehs, from Proto-Germanic sehs, from Proto-Indo-European swéḱs — six.

sex (Middle English): sex; Alternative form of sax; Alternative form of...

Definitions

  1. sex; Alternative form of sax; Alternative form of...

Ancestry of “sex”, step by step

sex traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English six

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsixsix
2Old Englishsixsix
3Proto-West Germanicsehssix
4Proto-Germanicsehssix
5Proto-Indo-Europeanswéḱssix

via Old English seax

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishseaxknife, dagger
2Proto-West Germanicsahsdagger, knife
3Proto-Germanicsahsąa stone chip used for cutting; dagger, knife
4Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever

Words derived from “sex”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European swéḱs →Every word from Proto-Germanic sehs →Every word from Proto-West Germanic sehs →