Etymograph

English

severity

Severity comes from Latin sevēritās ‘seriousness, gravity, sternness, strictness,…’, from Proto-Indo-European *séǵʰwr̥ ‘holding’, and ultimately from *seǵʰ- ‘to hold’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seǵʰ-1‘to hold’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*séǵʰwr̥1‘holding’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*seɣwēros1‘severe’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsevērus2‘severe, serious, strict, stern, stringent, austere, harsh, grave (in demeanor)’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsevēritās3‘seriousness, gravity, sternness, strictness, severity’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600severite3
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500severity3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1948severity3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin severus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin severitas
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English severity
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1948, Harold Vinal, Voices: “[…] the fear of God whereof ' tis written…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seǵʰ-Wiktionary, Latin severus‘to hold’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*séǵʰwr̥Wiktionary, Latin severus‘holding’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*seɣwērosWiktionary, Latin severus‘severe’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsevērusWiktionary, Latin severitas‘severe, serious, strict, stern, stringent, austere, harsh, grave (in demeanor)’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsevēritāsWiktionary, English severity‘seriousness, gravity, sternness, strictness, severity’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600severiteWiktionary, English severity
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500severityWiktionary, English severity
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1948severityWiktionary, English severity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1948, Harold Vinal, Voices: “[…] the fear of God whereof ' tis written…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- ‘to hold’

school, sketch, scholar, hector, hectic, epoch, scholastic, schema, shul, 23 more

through Latin sevērus ‘severe, serious, strict, stern, stringent,…’

perseverance, persevere, 5 more

Today it means

noun The state of being severe.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “severity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin severus, Latin severitas. 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 *seǵʰ- / severity

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