Etymograph

English

sectator

Sectator comes from Latin sectātor, from 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 CEsequor2‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsectātor2frequentative of sequor
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1662sectator2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sequor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sectator
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: “But that the Earth, Water, Air, are of a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, Latin sequor‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetorWiktionary, Latin sequor‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōrWiktionary, Latin sequor‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequorWiktionary, English sectator‘follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsectātorWiktionary, English sectatorfrequentative of sequor
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1662sectatorWiktionary, English sectator. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: “But that the Earth, Water, Air, are of a…”

Linked words

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

say, see, social, saw, second, society, executive, sight, subsequent, associate, sue, suite, consequence, saga, consequently, intrinsic, sequential, dissociation, sequestration, extrinsic, sequester, dissociate, seg, 30 more

through Proto-Italic *sekʷōr ‘to follow, come/go after’

pursuit, suitor, 16 more

through Latin sequor ‘follow’

suit, pursue, sequence, consecutive, sequel, prosecution, execute, persecution, ensue, consequent, persecute, executor, segue, sequitur, 18 more

Today it means

noun A follower, a disciple; someone who follows a particular school; partisan.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sectator”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin sequor. 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- / sectator

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