Etymograph

English

suitor

Suitor comes from Anglo-Norman suytour, from Late Latin secutor ‘follower, pursuer’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-1‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetor1‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōr1‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequor1‘to follow’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsecutor2‘follower, pursuer’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400suytour2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sutour2‘a believer in ideas’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1999suitor2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin secutor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English suitor
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, Martha Craven Nussbaum, Sex and Social Justice: “(Notice that "Lysias" begins from the realistic assumption that…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sekʷ-Wiktionary, Latin secutor‘to follow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékʷetorWiktionary, Latin secutor‘to be following’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekʷōrWiktionary, Latin secutor‘to follow, come/go after’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsequorWiktionary, Latin secutor‘to follow’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsecutorWiktionary, English suitor‘follower, pursuer’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400suytourWiktionary, English suitor
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sutourWiktionary, English suitor‘a believer in ideas’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1999suitorWiktionary, English suitor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, Martha Craven Nussbaum, Sex and Social Justice: “(Notice that "Lysias" begins from the realistic assumption that…”

Linked words

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

see, say, second, social, saw, society, executive, sight, associate, subsequent, consequence, consequently, sue, saga, intrinsic, suite, sequential, sequestration, dissociation, extrinsic, sequester, dissociate, seg, 31 more

through Latin sequor ‘to follow’

sequence, consecutive, prosecution, pursue, sequel, execute, persecution, sect, pursuit, consequent, persecute, ensue, executor, segue, sequitur, 17 more

Today it means

noun One who pursues someone, especially a woman, for a romantic relationship or marriage; a wooer; one who falls in love with or courts someone.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “suitor”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin secutor. 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- / suitor

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