Etymograph

English

pursuit

Pursuit comes from Old French porsuir ‘to pursue’, from Latin sequor ‘follow’, and ultimately from 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 CEsequor1‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprosequor2as prosequor‘to pursue, follow’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*prosequere2reconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400porsuir3‘to pursue’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400poursuite3
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pursuyte3
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1655pursuit3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin prosequor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French porsuir
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English pursuit
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […]: “That pursuit for tithes ought, and of ancient time…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, Latin prosequor‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetorWiktionary, Latin prosequor‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōrWiktionary, Latin prosequor‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequorWiktionary, Latin prosequor‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprosequorWiktionary, Old French porsuiras prosequor‘to pursue, follow’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*prosequereWiktionary, Old French porsuirreconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400porsuirWiktionary, English pursuit‘to pursue’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400poursuiteWiktionary, English pursuit
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pursuyteWiktionary, English pursuit
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1655pursuitWiktionary, English pursuit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […]: “That pursuit for tithes ought, and of ancient time…”

Linked words

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

see, say, second, social, saw, society, executive, sight, associate, subsequent, consequence, consequently, sue, saga, intrinsic, suite, sequential, sequestration, dissociation, extrinsic, sequester, dissociate, seg, 32 more

through Latin sequor ‘follow’

sequence, consecutive, sequel, execute, persecution, sect, consequent, executor, ensue, persecute, segue, suitor, sequitur, 18 more

through Latin prosequor ‘to pursue, follow’

prosecution, 1 more

Today it means

noun The act of pursuing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pursuit”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin prosequor, Old French porsuir. 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- / pursuit

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