Etymograph

English

significavit

Significavit comes from Latin significāvit ‘he has signified’, from signum ‘token, sign’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-1‘to cut’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnom1‘sign’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignum2‘token, sign’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificō3as significāre‘to signify’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificāvit3‘he has signified’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1682significavit3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin signum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin significo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English significavit
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1682, English Liberties:: “the Kings Courts can receive Significavits from none but…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-Wiktionary, Latin signum‘to cut’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnomWiktionary, Latin signum‘sign’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignumWiktionary, Latin significo‘token, sign’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificōWiktionary, English significavitas significāre‘to signify’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignificāvitWiktionary, English significavit‘he has signified’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1682significavitWiktionary, English significavit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1682, English Liberties:: “the Kings Courts can receive Significavits from none but…”

Linked words

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

saw, sex, risk, section, ship, sexual, segment, sack, insect, sawyer, scarlet, designation, sax, het, shingle, dissect, sickle, scythe, seg, sedge, sich, desiccation, brassica, assignation, desiccant, 52 more

through Proto-Italic *segnom ‘sign’

design, resign, sealing, assign, consign, 18 more

through Latin signum ‘token, sign’

seal, signal, ensign, insignia, signet, sain, sigil, 12 more

Today it means

noun A writ issuing out of chancery, upon certificate given by the ordinary, of a man's standing excommunicate by the space of forty days, for the laying him up in prison till he submit himself to the authority of the church.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “significavit”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin signum, Latin significo. 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 *sek- / significavit

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