Etymology

sizzle

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Today it means: To make the sound of water boiling on a hot surface. Full definition →

Middle English sissen
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The story

  1. Middle English · derived fromsissen“to hiss; buzz; hum”
  2. English todaysizzle

Probably a derivative of Middle English sissen (“to hiss; buzz; hum”), equivalent to siss + -le (frequentative suffix); Ultimately imitative.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishsissen all →

siss

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.