English
assign
Assign comes from Old French assigner ‘to assign’, from Latin signō ‘mark, sign’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-1‘to cut’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnom2‘sign’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnāō2reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignō2‘mark, sign’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEassignō2‘to appoint to, assign, distribute, allot, allocate’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400assigner2‘to assign’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500assignen2‘to assign, allot’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602assign2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *segnom
- 2 Wiktionary, English assign
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet: “The King ſir hath wagerd with him ſix Barbary…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *segnom‘to cut’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnomWiktionary, English assign‘sign’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnāōWiktionary, English assignreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignōWiktionary, English assign‘mark, sign’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEassignōWiktionary, English assign‘to appoint to, assign, distribute, allot, allocate’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400assignerWiktionary, English assign‘to assign’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500assignenWiktionary, English assign‘to assign, allot’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602assignWiktionary, English assign. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet: “The King ſir hath wagerd with him ſix Barbary…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’
saw, sex, risk, section, ship, sexual, segment, sack, insect, scarlet, sawyer, sealing, sax, het, shingle, sickle, scythe, dissect, seg, sedge, sich, desiccation, desiccant, brassica, 50 more
through Proto-Italic *segnom ‘sign’
significant, seal, signal, significance, signify, ensign, insignia, signet, sigil, signification, 15 more
through Proto-Italic *segnāō
through Latin signō ‘mark, sign’
Today it means
verb To designate or set apart (something) for some purpose.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “assign”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Italic *segnom. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sek- / assign