Etymograph

English

single

Single comes from Latin singulus ‘one each, one apiece’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-1‘one’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsingulus1‘one each’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sengle1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500single1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1526single1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English single
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Therefore, when thyne eye is single: then is all…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sem-Wiktionary, English single‘one’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsingulusWiktionary, English single‘one each’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sengleWiktionary, English single
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500singleWiktionary, English single
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1526singleWiktionary, English single. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Therefore, when thyne eye is single: then is all…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one’

some, same, seem, similar, simply, soft, sam, simple, simulation, resemblance, resemble, sincerely, anomaly, assemble, simultaneous, simulate, semblance, sincerity, anomalous, assimilate, homeopathic, synapse, homology, singularity, hyphen, insincere, sempre, synchronise, homolog, simulacrum, simile, 45 more

through Latin singulus ‘one each, one apiece’

singular, 2 more

Today it means

adj Not accompanied by anything else; one in number.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “single”. 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 *sem- / single

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