Etymologically
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sequin

Etymology and origin of the English word sequin

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsiː.kwɪn/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French sequin,[2][3][4][5] from Italian zecchino, the name of a Venetian gold coin,[2][3][4][5] from Italian zecca (“mint”),[2][3][4] from Arabic سِكَّة (sikka, “minting die, coin”).[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first named a gold coin of Venice, and also of Turkey.[3][6][5]

Semantic evolution

Women in the Orient wore the perforated Venetian coins as earrings or necklaces, and by 1852 fashion articles used the word for an ornamental disc or spangle.[3] This is now the main sense.[2][5][1]

Timeline

  • 1610s – the coin;[3] Merriam-Webster and the OED date it 1617.[4][6]
  • 1852 – an ornamental spangle;[3] the OED’s first quotation is 1882.[6]
  • 1889 – sequined;[3] the OED dates the verb 1894.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small shiny disc sewn on clothing as decoration; a spangle.
  2. (historical) A gold coin of Venice or Turkey.

Verb

  1. To decorate with sequins.

Word family

  • sequined

Related words

  • spangle
  • ducat

References

  1. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. [1] [2] [3] [4] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“sequin.” Etymologically, 6 October 2026, https://etymologically.com/en/sequin. Accessed 6 October 2026.

Last edited on .