Etymograph

English

prosecution

Prosecution comes from Latin prōsequor ‘follow, pursue’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-1‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetor1‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōr1‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequor2‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōsequor2‘follow, pursue’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōsecutio2
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600prosecution2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1892prosecution2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sequor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English prosecution
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, Walter Besant, Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?: “Such a scandal as the prosecution of a brother…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, Latin sequor‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetorWiktionary, Latin sequor‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōrWiktionary, Latin sequor‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequorWiktionary, English prosecution‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōsequorWiktionary, English prosecution‘follow, pursue’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōsecutioWiktionary, English prosecution
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600prosecutionWiktionary, English prosecution
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1892prosecutionWiktionary, English prosecution. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, Walter Besant, Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?: “Such a scandal as the prosecution of a brother…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’

see, say, social, saw, society, second, sight, associate, executive, subsequent, sue, suite, saga, consequence, consequently, intrinsic, sequential, extrinsic, dissociation, sequestration, dissociate, sequester, seg, 30 more

through Proto-Italic *sekʷōr ‘to follow, come/go after’

suitor, 16 more

through Latin sequor ‘follow’

suit, sequence, sequel, execute, consecutive, sect, ensue, persecution, consequent, executor, segue, persecute, sequitur, 17 more

through Latin prōsequor ‘follow, pursue’

pursue, pursuit

Today it means

noun The act of prosecuting a scheme or endeavor.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prosecution”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin sequor. 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 *sekʷ- / prosecution

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