English
socket
Socket comes from Anglo-Norman soket ‘spearhead’, from Old French soc ‘plowshare’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sewH- ‘to give birth’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sewH-‘to give birth’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*súH-s‘pig’reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*sukkos‘pig (snout)’reconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*soccus‘soccus, a kind of slipper particularly worn by comedic actors’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400soc‘plowshare’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400soket‘spearhead’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500socket
- Englishearliest quotation 1671same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sewH-‘to give birth’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*súH-s‘pig’reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*sukkos‘pig (snout)’reconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*soccus‘soccus, a kind of slipper particularly worn by comedic actors’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400soc‘plowshare’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400soket‘spearhead’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500socket
- Englishearliest quotation 1671same form
Earliest quotation: 1671, Thomas Watson, The Beatitudes: “Chriſt calls his Miniſters, Lux Mundi, the light of…”
The story
From Middle English socket, soket, from Anglo-Norman soket (‘spearhead’), diminutive of Old French soc (‘plowshare’), from Vulgar Latin *soccus, a word borrowed from Gaulish, from Proto-Celtic *sukkos (compare modern Welsh swch (‘plowshare’)), literally "pig's snout", from Proto-Indo-European *suH-.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sewH- ‘to give birth’
Today it means
noun An opening into which a plug or other connecting part is designed to fit (e.g. a light bulb socket).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sewH- / socket