sax

sax · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sek-“to cut”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sahsą“stone chip, knife”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*sahs
4. Old English · inherited fromseax“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”
5. Middle English · inherited fromsax
6. English todaysax

From Middle English sax, sex, from Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”), from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“stone chip, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). Doublet of seax and zax.

sax · noun, verb²

Clipping of saxophone. Distantly related to etymology 1 above, because the “Sax” surname is a cognate.

sax · noun³

Clipping of saxe blue, from the name of the region of Saxony.

Sax · proper noun⁴

1. Proto-Indo-European*sek-
2. Proto-Germanic*sahsą
3. Proto-West Germanic*sahs
4. Proto-West Germanic*Sahsō
5. Old High GermanSahso
6. Middle High GermanSahse
7. GermanSachse
8. GermanSachs
9. English todaySax

Derived from German Sachs, from Sachse, from Middle High German Sahse, from Old High German Sahso, from Proto-West Germanic *Sahsō (“Saxon”), from *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą, from Proto-Indo-European *sek-.

Words from the same roots