Etymograph

English

serious

Serious comes from Middle English seryows, from Old French serieux, from Medieval Latin sēriōsus, from Latin sērius ‘grave, earnest’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsērius1‘grave, earnest, serious’
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sēriōsus1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400serieux1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500seryows1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1957serious1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English serious
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1957, Ray Lawler, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll: “The only time I walk out on singin' is…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēriusWiktionary, English serious‘grave, earnest, serious’
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sēriōsusWiktionary, English serious
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400serieuxWiktionary, English serious
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500seryowsWiktionary, English serious
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1957seriousWiktionary, English serious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1957, Ray Lawler, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll: “The only time I walk out on singin' is…”

The story

From Middle English seryows, from Old French serieux, from Medieval Latin sēriōsus, an extension of Latin sērius (‘grave, earnest, serious’), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (‘heavy’). (If this root is correct, cognate with German schwer (‘heavy, difficult, severe’), Old English swǣr (‘heavy, grave, grievous’). However, see sērius for an alternative derivation of the Latin.)

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Latin sērius

Today it means

adj Without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “serious”. 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 / Latin sērius / serious

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