sooth

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₁es-“to be”
2. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*h₁sónts
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sanþaz“truth; true”
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*sanþ
5. Old English · inherited fromsōþ“truth; true, actual, real”
6. Middle English · inherited fromsooth
7. English todaysooth

From Middle English sooth, from Old English sōþ (“truth; true, actual, real”), from Proto-West Germanic *sanþ, from Proto-Germanic *sanþaz (“truth; true”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁sónts, *h₁s-ont- (“being, existence, real, true”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). Akin to Old Saxon sōþ (“true”), Old High German sand (“true”), Old Norse sannr (“true”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌾𐌰 (sunja, “truth”), Old English synn (“sin, guilt"; literally, "being the one guilty”). More at sin. See also soothe, derived from the same Old English word.

Words from the same roots