Etymograph

English

seal

Seal comes from Middle English sel ‘seal (pinniped)’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *selk- ‘to pull’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*selk-1‘to pull’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*selhaz1‘seal (animal)’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*selh1‘seal (animal)’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150seolh1‘seal (animal)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sel1‘seal (pinniped)’
  6. Englishtodayseal1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English seal

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*selk-Wiktionary, English seal‘to pull’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*selhazWiktionary, English seal‘seal (animal)’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*selhWiktionary, English seal‘seal (animal)’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150seolhWiktionary, English seal‘seal (animal)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500selWiktionary, English seal‘seal (pinniped)’
  6. EnglishtodaysealWiktionary, English seal

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *selk- ‘to pull’

sulk, sulcus, 6 more

through Middle English sel ‘seal (pinniped)’

seel, 2 more

Another origin of seal

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnom‘sign’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignum‘sign’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsigillumdiminutive of signum
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400seel
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sel
  7. Englishtodayseal

Another origin of seal

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*selenreconstructed
  2. Englishtodayseal

From Middle English *selen (suggested by Middle English sele (‘harness; hame’)), perhaps from Old English sǣlan (‘to bind’).

Today it means

noun A pinniped (Pinnipedia), particularly an earless seal (true seal) or eared seal.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “seal”. 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 *selk- / seal

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