Etymograph

English

sedition

Sedition comes from Latin sēditiō ‘sedition, discord’, from itiō ‘going’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-1‘to go’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éyti1‘to go, to be going’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ejō1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eō1‘to go’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeō2‘go, proceed’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEitiō3‘going’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēditiō3‘sedition, discord’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sedicion3
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611sedition3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin eo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin itio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English sedition
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “That search may be made in the book of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-Wiktionary, Latin eo‘to go’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éytiWiktionary, Latin eo‘to go, to be going’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ejōWiktionary, Latin eoreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eōWiktionary, Latin eo‘to go’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeōWiktionary, Latin itio‘go, proceed’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEitiōWiktionary, English sedition‘going’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēditiōWiktionary, English sedition‘sedition, discord’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sedicionWiktionary, English sedition
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611seditionWiktionary, English sedition. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “That search may be made in the book of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’

eid, itinerary, iter, 24 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti ‘to go, to be going’

ion, isthmus, cation, anionic, 19 more

through Proto-Italic *eō ‘to go’

initiative, initiate, initiation, initiator, 4 more

through Latin eō ‘go, proceed’

issue, initial, exit, ambient, trance, ambitious, transient, obituary, ambition, eyre, ambiance, transitory, transitive, praetorian, praetor, ambit, obit, 24 more

through Latin itiō ‘going’

transition, 1 more

Today it means

noun Organized incitement of rebellion or civil disorder against authority or the state, usually by speech or writing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sedition”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin eo, Latin itio. 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 *h₁ey- / sedition

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