seal

seal · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Finnic · derived from*šülkeš
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*selk-“to pull”
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*selhaz
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*selh
5. Old English · inherited fromseolh
6. Middle English · inherited fromsel
7. English todayseal

From Middle English sel, from an inflectional form of Old English seolh, from Proto-West Germanic *selh, from Proto-Germanic *selhaz (compare Scots selch,selkie, North Frisian selich, Middle Dutch seel, zēle, Old High German selah, Danish sæl, Middle Low German sale, Icelandic selur), either from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to pull”) (compare dialectal English sullow (“plough”)) or from early Proto-Finnic *šülkeš (later *hülgeh, compare dialectal Finnish hylki, standard hylje, Estonian hüljes).

seal · noun, verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European*sek-?
2. Proto-Italic*segnom
3. Latinsignum
4. Latinsigillum
5. Anglo-Normansee
6. Middle Englishsel
7. English todayseal

Inherited from Middle English sel, sele, from Anglo-Norman seel, from Latin sigillum, a diminutive of signum (“sign”). Doublet of sigil and sigillum.

seal · verb³

1. Old English · inherited fromsǣlan“to bind”
2. Middle English · inherited from*selen
3. English todayseal

From Middle English *selen (suggested by Middle English sele (“harness; hame”)), perhaps from Old English sǣlan (“to bind”).

Seal · proper noun⁴

1. Old French · derived fromsele“saddle”
2. English todaySeal

* As an English surname, spelling variant of Sale. * As an occupational English surname, related to seal. * As an occupational English surname, from Old French sele (“saddle”). * As an English nickname-derived surname, from seal (the animal). * As a Jewish surname, spelling variant or semantic loan of Siegel.

Words from the same roots