Saxon

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sek-“to cut”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*sahsą“rock, knife”
3. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*sahs
4. Late Latin · derived fromSaxōnem
5. Old French · derived from*Saxoun
6. Old English · inherited from*Seaxa
7. Middle English · inherited fromSaxe
8. English todaySaxon

Partially from Middle English Saxe, Sax; from Old English *Seaxa (attested in plural Seaxan), from Proto-West Germanic *Sahsan, plural of Proto-West Germanic *Sahsō. Also from Saxoun, through Old French *Saxoun, Saxon (“Saxon”), from Late Latin Saxōnem, accusative of Saxō (“a Saxon”). All from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“rock, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). Doublet of Sais. Cognates Cognate with Middle Low German sasse (“someone speaking Saxon, i.e. (Middle) Low German”), Old English Seaxa (“a Saxon”), Old High German Sahso (“a Saxon”), Icelandic Saxi (“a Saxon”), Estonian saks (“lord; German”), Finnish Saksa (“Germany”). Also cognate to Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”); more at sax.

Words from the same roots