Etymograph

English

sally

Sally comes from Old English sealh ‘willow’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sl̥H-ik-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sl̥H-ik-1‘willow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*salhô1‘willow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*salh1‘willow’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sealh2as saliġ‘willow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500saly2
  6. Englishtodaysally2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English sealh
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sally

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sl̥H-ik-Wiktionary, Old English sealh‘willow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*salhôWiktionary, Old English sealh‘willow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*salhWiktionary, Old English sealh‘willow’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sealhWiktionary, English sallyas saliġ‘willow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500salyWiktionary, English sally
  6. EnglishtodaysallyWiktionary, English sally

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sl̥H-ik- ‘willow’

salicylic, sargasso, 5 more

through Old English sealh ‘willow’

sallow

Another origin of sally

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sel-‘jump, spring’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sl̥-yé-toruncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἅλλομαιhállomai‘to leap, jump’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsalioas salīre‘to leap’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentsaillir‘to leap forth’
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentsailli
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentsaillie
  8. Englishtodaysally

Today it means

noun A willow.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sally”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English sealh. 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 *sl̥H-ik- / sally

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