Etymograph

English

seed

Seed comes from Old English sēd ‘seed, that which is sown’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- ‘to sow, throw’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₁-1‘to sow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sēdą1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sād1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sēd1‘seed’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500seed1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590seed1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English seed
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto X: “Next him king Leyr in happie peace long raind,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₁-Wiktionary, English seed‘to sow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sēdąWiktionary, English seedreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sādWiktionary, English seedreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sēdWiktionary, English seed‘seed’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500seedWiktionary, English seed
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1590seedWiktionary, English seed. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto X: “Next him king Leyr in happie peace long raind,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- ‘to sow, throw’

since, side, season, earn, seminar, sow, semen, seminal, serene, sower, 16 more

Today it means

noun Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “seed”. 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 *seh₁- / seed

Shirt and support for this word