Etymograph

English

designation

Designation comes from Latin dēsignātiō ‘a designating, describing, marking out,…’, from signō ‘mark’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-1‘to cut’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnom2‘sign’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnāō2reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignō2‘mark’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsignō3‘designate, describe’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsignātiō4‘a designating, describing, marking out, specification’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500designacioun4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1689designation4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *segnom
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin designo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin designatio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English designation
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1689, Of the Signification of Words: “But ſo far as Words are of Uſe and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *segnom‘to cut’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnomWiktionary, Latin designo‘sign’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnāōWiktionary, Latin designoreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignōWiktionary, Latin designo‘mark’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsignōWiktionary, Latin designatio‘designate, describe’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēsignātiōWiktionary, English designation‘a designating, describing, marking out, specification’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500designaciounWiktionary, English designation
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1689designationWiktionary, English designation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1689, Of the Signification of Words: “But ſo far as Words are of Uſe and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’

saw, sex, risk, ship, sexual, section, segment, signal, sack, significance, insect, scarlet, sawyer, sealing, sax, het, sickle, shingle, dissect, ensign, scythe, signify, insignia, sich, seg, sedge, signet, brassica, desiccant, desiccation, signification, 49 more

through Proto-Italic *segnom ‘sign’

significant, sign, seal, sigil, 21 more

through Proto-Italic *segnāō

assignation, 6 more

through Latin signō ‘mark’

resign, assign, sain, consign, 7 more

Today it means

noun An act or instance of designating

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “designation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *segnom, Latin designo, Latin designatio. 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- / designation

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