Etymology

sigh

S1I1G2H4

Today it means: To inhale a larger quantity of air than usual, and immediately expel it; to make a deep single audible respiration, especially as the result or involuntary expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like. Full definition →

Middle English sighen ← Old English sīcan ← Proto-West Germanic *sīkan
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sigh · verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*seykʷ-“to pour out”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*sīkan
  3. Old English · derived fromsīcan
  4. Middle English · inherited fromsighen“to sigh”
  5. English todaysigh

From Middle English sighen (“to sigh”), back-formation from sighte, past tense form of siken, from Old English sīcan, from Proto-West Germanic *sīkan, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seykʷ- (“to pour out”).

sigh · noun, interjection2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromsighe“sigh”
  2. English todaysigh

From Middle English sighe (“sigh”), from sighen (“to sigh”) (see ).

Words from the same roots

Old Englishsīcan all →

sike

Proto-West Germanic*sīkan all →

sike

Proto-Indo-European*seykʷ- all →

seasie

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.