Etymograph

English

multisect

Multisect comes from Latin sectus ‘cut (off)’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sek-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-1‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaō1‘to cut’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecō2as secare, past participle‘to cut’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsectus2‘cut (off)’
  5. Englishtodaymultisect2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin seco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English multisect

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-Wiktionary, Latin seco‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaōWiktionary, Latin seco‘to cut’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecōWiktionary, English multisectas secare, past participle‘to cut’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsectusWiktionary, English multisect‘cut (off)’
  5. EnglishtodaymultisectWiktionary, English multisect

Linked words

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

saw, design, sign, ship, seal, sack, scarlet, sawyer, sax, shingle, scythe, sich, sigil, sedge, sain, desiccation, desiccant, 58 more

through Proto-Italic *sekaō ‘to cut’

sexuality, homosexual, 17 more

through Latin secō ‘to cut’

sex, risk, sexual, segment, insect, sickle, het, dissection, brassica, dissect, seg, 19 more

through Latin sectus ‘cut (off)’

section, 2 more

Today it means

adj Divided into many similar segments; said of an insect or myriapod

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “multisect”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin seco. 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- / multisect

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