Where does “sum” come from?
sum (Middle English) comes from Old English sum, from Proto-West Germanic *sum, from Proto-Germanic sumaz, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.
sum (Middle English): some
Ancestry of “sum”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | sum | some |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *sum | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | sumaz | some , a certain; some, certain |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sem- | together, one |