Etymograph

English

signet

Signet comes from Old French signet ‘small seal’, from Latin signum ‘sign’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *segnom.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnom1‘sign’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignum2‘sign’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400signet2‘small seal’
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602signet2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin signum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English signet
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “I had my fathers Signet in my Purse, /…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnomWiktionary, Latin signum‘sign’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignumWiktionary, English signet‘sign’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400signetWiktionary, English signet‘small seal’
  4. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602signetWiktionary, English signet. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “I had my fathers Signet in my Purse, /…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’

saw, sex, risk, section, ship, sexual, segment, sack, insect, sawyer, scarlet, designation, sax, shingle, sickle, dissect, het, scythe, seg, sedge, sich, desiccation, brassica, desiccant, assignation, 49 more

through Proto-Italic *segnom ‘sign’

design, sealing, resign, assign, consign, 15 more

through Latin signum ‘sign’

significant, seal, signal, significance, signify, ensign, insignia, sain, sigil, signification, 9 more

Today it means

noun An object (especially a ring) formerly used to impress a picture into the sealing wax of a document as a proof of its origin.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “signet”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin signum. 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-Italic *segnom / signet

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