Etymograph

English

seven

Seven comes from Middle English seven, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*septḿ̥1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sebun1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sebun1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150seofon1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500seven1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611seven1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English seven
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “1 Now Iericho was straitly shut vp, because of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*septḿ̥Wiktionary, English sevenreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sebunWiktionary, English sevenreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sebunWiktionary, English sevenreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150seofonWiktionary, English seven
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sevenWiktionary, English seven
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611sevenWiktionary, English seven. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “1 Now Iericho was straitly shut vp, because of…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with seven, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥

  • septic ← septem ← *septəm

through Proto-Germanic *sebun

  • eighty ← eightety ← hundeahtatiġ ← *ahtōutēhundą

20 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *septḿ̥ →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

num A numerical value equal to 7; the number following six and preceding eight.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “seven”. 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 *septḿ̥ / seven