Etymograph

English

segue

Segue comes from Italian segue ‘it follows’, and goes back to 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‘to follow, to come or go after, to pursue’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentseguire2‘to follow’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentsegue2‘it follows’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2009segue2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sequor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English segue
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Rosie DiManno, Murder reduced to infantile online postings: “Then, in a staggering display of empathy for the…”.

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 segue‘to follow, to come or go after, to pursue’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentseguireWiktionary, English segue‘to follow’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentsegueWiktionary, English segue‘it follows’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2009segueWiktionary, English segue. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Rosie DiManno, Murder reduced to infantile online postings: “Then, in a staggering display of empathy for the…”

The story

Borrowed from Italian segue (‘it follows’), from seguire (‘to follow’), from Latin sequor; originally a term used in a musical score to indicate that the next movement or passage is to follow without a break.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

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

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

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

pursuit, suitor, 16 more

through Latin sequor ‘to follow, to come or go after, to pursue’

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

Today it means

verb To move smoothly from one state or subject to another.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “segue”; 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- / segue

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