Etymograph

English

sevenfold

Sevenfold comes from Old English seofon ‘seven’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*septḿ̥1‘seven’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sebun2‘seven’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sebun3‘seven’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150seofon4‘seven’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150seofonfeald5
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sevenfold5
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611sevenfold5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *sebun
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *sebun
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English seofon
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Old English seofonfeald
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English sevenfold
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*septḿ̥Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *sebun‘seven’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sebunWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *sebun‘seven’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sebunWiktionary, Old English seofon‘seven’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150seofonWiktionary, Old English seofonfeald‘seven’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150seofonfealdWiktionary, English sevenfold
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sevenfoldWiktionary, English sevenfold
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611sevenfoldWiktionary, English sevenfold. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth…”

Formed from seven + -fold

Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥

Proto-Germanic *sebun

Proto-West Germanic *sebun

Old English seofon

Middle English seven

English seven

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥ ‘seven’

septic, 19 more

through Proto-Germanic *sebun ‘seven’

eighty, 1 more

Today it means

adj Seven times as much; multiplied by seven.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sevenfold”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *sebun, Proto-West Germanic *sebun, Old English seofon, Old English seofonfeald. 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 / sevenfold

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