Etymograph

English

same

Same comes from Middle English same, from Old Norse samr ‘same’ and/or Old English same, both from Proto-Germanic *samaz ‘same’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *somHós ‘same’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*somHós1‘same’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*samaz1‘same’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350samr1‘same’uncertain
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same1
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606same1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English same
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “King Lear: This is a dull sight. Are you…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*somHósWiktionary, English same‘same’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*samazWiktionary, English same‘same’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350samrWiktionary, English same‘same’uncertain
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sameWiktionary, English same
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606sameWiktionary, English same. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “King Lear: This is a dull sight. Are you…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with same, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘together, one’

  • some ← som ← sum ← *sum ← *sumaz
  • single ← sengle ← singulus
  • similar ← similaire ← similaris ← similis ← *semalis
  • seem ← semen ← sœma ← *sōmijaną
  • simple ← symple ← simplus
  • simply ← symply ← symple ← simple ← simplus
  • soft ← softe ← sōfte ← *samft(ī)
  • simulation ← symulacioun ← simulātiōnem ← simulō ← similis
  • sincerely ← sincērus ← *senkairos
  • singular ← singuler ← singulāris ← singulus
  • resemble ← resemblen ← resembler
  • sam ← sammen ← samnian ← *samnōn ← *samnōną

75 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Not different or other; not another or others; not different as regards self; selfsame; identical.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “same”. 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 *somHós / same