English
search
Search comes from Middle English serchen, from Anglo-Norman sercher, from Late Latin circō ‘to go around, search for’, from circus.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcircus1‘circle’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcircō1‘to circle; go around; search for’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400sercher1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500serchen1‘to scrutinise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485search1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English search
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, xvj: “Now torne we to the xj kynges that retorned…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcircusWiktionary, English search‘circle’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcircōWiktionary, English search‘to circle; go around; search for’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400sercherWiktionary, English search
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500serchenWiktionary, English search‘to scrutinise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485searchWiktionary, English search. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, xvj: “Now torne we to the xj kynges that retorned…”
The story
Unrelated to German suchen, which is cognate with English seek.
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Today it means
noun An attempt to find something.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “search”. 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 / Latin circus / search