Etymograph

English

suite

Suite comes from Middle French suite, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-1‘to follow’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600suite1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1792suite1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English suite
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond: “[A]s to men, we shall live altogether at the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, English suite‘to follow’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600suiteWiktionary, English suite
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1792suiteWiktionary, English suite. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond: “[A]s to men, we shall live altogether at the…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’

see, say, second, social, saw, society, executive, sight, sequence, subsequent, associate, consecutive, prosecution, pursue, sequel, consequently, saga, sue, persecution, execute, sect, intrinsic, pursuit, sequential, consequent, executor, sequestration, dissociation, extrinsic, ensue, persecute, segue, seg, sequester, dissociate, suitor, sequitur, 32 more

Today it means

noun A group or train of attendants, servants etc.; a retinue.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “suite”. 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 *sekʷ- / suite

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