siglum

The story

1. Late Latin · learned borrowing fromsigla
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sem-“one; together”
3. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sek-“to cut, sever; to cut off”
4. Late Latin · learned borrowing fromsiglum“abbreviation”
5. English todaysiglum

Learned borrowing from Late Latin siglum (“abbreviation”), possibly a contracted form of: * sigillum (“figurine, statuette; seal”), from signum (“figure, statue; seal, signet; mark, sign”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut, sever; to cut off”) or *sekʷ- (“to follow”)) + -ulum (diminutive suffix); or * singulum, a singular form of singulus (“apiece; every; single”, adjective), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; together”). The plural form sigla is a learned borrowing from Late Latin sigla.

Words from the same roots