sequel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsiː.kwəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French sequelle and directly from Late Latin sequēla, that which follows, a result,^[2][3][4] from sequī, to follow (see sue),^[2][3][4] cognate with Ancient Greek ἕπομαι (hépomai), to follow, and Sanskrit सचते (sácate), he accompanies.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A band of followers, a retinue: about 1420 in the OED;^[5][6] a consequence or corollary, 1439 in Barnhart, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Offspring, heirs or descendants is from about 1440–50, now obsolete.^[5][2][3] A result of an event or course of action is from 1477.^[5] A story that continues an earlier one is first recorded before 1513,^[2] the 1510s in Etymonline.^[3] Max Beerbohm coined sequelula, a small sequel (1912).^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1420 – a train of followers.^[5]
• 1439 – a consequence.^[2]
• c. 1450 – descendants (obsolete).^[2]
• before 1513 – a continuing story.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A book, film or play that continues the story of an earlier one.
2. Something that follows; a result or consequence.

Word family

• prequel
• sequelize

Related words

• sue
• sequence
• consequence
• second
• sect

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press