Etymograph

English

sequel

Sequel comes from Latin sequēla ‘a result, consequence, sequel, aftermath’, from sequor ‘to 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 CEsequor2as sequī‘to follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequēla2‘a result, consequence, sequel, aftermath’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sequele2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sequele2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1678sequel2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sequor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sequel
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World: “Now here Chriſtian was worſe put to it then…”.

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 sequelas sequī‘to follow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequēlaWiktionary, English sequel‘a result, consequence, sequel, aftermath’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sequeleWiktionary, English sequel
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sequeleWiktionary, English sequel
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1678sequelWiktionary, English sequel. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World: “Now here Chriſtian was worſe put to it then…”

Linked words

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

say, see, social, second, saw, society, executive, sight, associate, suite, sue, saga, subsequent, intrinsic, consequence, consequently, 38 more

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

pursuit, 18 more

through Latin sequor ‘to follow’

suit, consecutive, pursue, execute, prosecution, persecution, sect, 25 more

Today it means

noun The events, collectively, which follow a previously mentioned event; the aftermath.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sequel”; 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- / sequel

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