Etymograph

English

sievert

Sievert comes from Swedish Sievert, and goes back to Old Norse Sigurþór.

  1. Old Norsec. 800–1350Sigurþór1
  2. SwedishmodernSievert2
  3. Englishtodaysievert2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Swedish Sievert
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sievert

Lineage

  1. Old Norsec. 800–1350SigurþórWiktionary, Swedish Sievert
  2. SwedishmodernSievertWiktionary, English sievert
  3. EnglishtodaysievertWiktionary, English sievert

The story

Named after the Swedish radiologist Rolf Sievert.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Old Norse Sigurþór

Today it means

noun In the International System of Units, the derived unit of radiation dose: the dose received in one hour at a distance of 1 cm from a point source of 1 mg of radium in a 0.5 mm thick platinum enclosure, which in its biological effects corresponds to several different quantities: equivalent dose, effective dose, and committed dose.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sievert”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Swedish Sievert. 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 / Old Norse Sigurþór / sievert

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