Etymologically
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seven

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsev.ən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sevene, inherited from Old English seofon,[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *sebun,[2][5] the source also of Old Saxon and Old High German sibun, Old Norse sjau, Dutch zeven and German sieben.[2][6] It is from Proto-Indo-European *septm (“seven”),[2][4][5] the source also of Latin septem, Greek ἑπτά (heptá), Sanskrit saptá and Old Irish secht.[2][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English seofon: about 725, in Beowulf.[3] The OED's first quotation is from 971.[7]

Semantic evolution

Seven has long been regarded as a number of perfection, as in the seven wonders and the seven sleepers, but Etymonline says this notion is late in Old English.[2] From about 1000 it was also used for a large number, especially of time,[7][2] and it is the typical number for “very great, strong”, as in seven-league boots.[2] As a throw in dice it is from the late 14th century,[2] and as the hour of seven o'clock by the early 15th century.[2] Magical healing power has been associated with the seventh son since the 16th century.[2] Word Origins notes how often the number appears in history and culture: the seven days of the week, the seven deadly sins, the seven dwarfs.[8] The American slang verb seven out, to throw a losing seven at craps, is from 1934.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – seofon, in Beowulf.[3]
  • c. 1000 – a large indefinite number.[7]
  • late 14th century – a throw in dice.[2]
  • early 15th century – seven o'clock.[2]
  • 16th century – the seventh son.[2]
  • 1934 – seven out, in craps.[7]

Modern meaning

Number

  1. The cardinal number equal to six plus one, written 7.
  2. The seventh in a set or series.
  3. A set or group of seven.
  • seventh
  • seventeen
  • seventy
  • September
  • hepta-
  • septet

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 j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press