Etymograph

English

sicker

Sicker comes from Proto-West Germanic *sikur ‘free, secure’, from Latin cūra ‘care’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to see’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizā1‘care’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūra1‘care’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcūrus2‘secure’literally ‘without care’
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sikur2‘free, secure’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sicer2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500siker2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1579sicker2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin securus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sicker
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1579, Immeritô pseudonym; Edmund Spenser, September. Ægloga Nona.: “But ſicker ſo it is, as the bꝛight ſtarre…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-Wiktionary, Latin securus‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizāWiktionary, Latin securus‘care’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūraWiktionary, Latin securus‘care’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēcūrusWiktionary, English sicker‘secure’literally ‘without care’
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sikurWiktionary, English sicker‘free, secure’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sicerWiktionary, English sicker
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sikerWiktionary, English sicker
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1579sickerWiktionary, English sicker. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1579, Immeritô pseudonym; Edmund Spenser, September. Ægloga Nona.: “But ſicker ſo it is, as the bꝛight ſtarre…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to see’

shire, curate, 4 more

through Proto-Italic *kʷoizā ‘care’

procurement, manicure, procurator, 4 more

through Latin cūra ‘care’

ensure, cure, assure, proxy, curator, insure, incurable, curation, 8 more

through Latin sēcūrus ‘secure’

sure, security, secure, 5 more

Another origin of sicker

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seykʷ-‘to pour out’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seygʷ-uncertainvariant of *seykʷ-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sīką‘slow running water’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sikarōną‘to trickle’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sikarōnreconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150sicerian‘to ooze, seep’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*sikerenreconstructed
  8. Englishtodaysicker

Inherited from Middle English *sikeren (attested only as sikeriez (‘(it) trickles, (it) leaks, (it) oozes’)), from Old English sicerian (‘to ooze, seep’), from Proto-West Germanic *sikarōn, from Proto-Germanic *sikarōną (‘to trickle’), from Proto-Germanic *sīką (‘slow running water’).

Today it means

adj Certain.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sicker”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin securus. 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 *kʷeys- / sicker

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