Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Proto-Germanic word *sadaz

Confidence
Established
From
Proto-Indo-European *seh₂-
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Proto-Germanic *sadaz
Proto-West Germanic *sad
Dutch zat
Old English sǣd
English sad
From the same root
English sadness ← sǣd

Reconstruction

The adjective is *sadaz in Wiktionary,[1] *sađaz in Orel,[2] and *sada- in Kroonen, Köbler and Heidermanns.[3][4][5]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂- (“to satiate”):[1] Kroonen calls it the past participle to this root, *sh₂-tó-,[3] and Orel a participle *sətós to a root *sā-.[2]

Morphology

An a-stem adjective,[6] a verbal adjective in *-to-.[7][8] Bammesberger calls it the regular participle from the zero grade of the root, whose full grade is in *sō-þ-.[7] Heidermanns found the stem formation at first unclear, *sad-a- or *sa-da-.[5]

Evidence

The adjective is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌸𐍃 (saþs), Old Norse saðr, and Old English sæd, Old Saxon sad and Old High German sat in West Germanic.[3] Heidermanns calls it common Germanic, used mostly as a predicate.[5] The Gothic word occurs in Wulfila's Bible, as in Luke 6:21 and John 6:12;[6] its nominative masculine is recorded only once, spelled 𐍃𐌰𐌳𐍃 (sads), in Philippians 4:12.[9] Outside Germanic, Kroonen compares Latin satis (“enough”),[3] and Orel and Heidermanns Ancient Greek ἄατος (áatos, “insatiable”) and Lithuanian sotùs (“satisfied”).[2][5]

Competing analyses

Kroonen also compares Old Armenian հաճ (hač, “satisfied”), from *sh₂-t-io-;[3] Wiktionary rejects this and derives the Armenian word from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to follow”).[1]

Meanings

  1. satiated, sated, full[3][1][4]

Old English also used it for "weary".[2][10] In Old Norse the word died out early, perhaps because some of its forms fell together with the word for "true", Old Norse sannr.[5]

Derivatives

  • *sadjaną "to satiate",[11] a factitive verb, Kroonen's *sadjan-,[3] Orel's *sađjanan;[12] it gave Old Norse seðja.[3]
  • *sadōjan- "to become sated", in Old English sadian and Old High German satōn,[3] Köbler's *sadōn.[13]
  • *sadī- "satiation", in Old High German setī.[14]
  • With another ablaut grade, *sōda- "satiation", the source of Gothic 𐍃𐍉𐌸 (soþ);[15] Orel writes it *sōþan.[16]

Reflexes

  • Gothic: 𐍃𐌰𐌸𐍃 (saþs, “sated, full”)[6]
  • Old Norse: saðr (“sated”)[17]
  • Old English: sæd (“sated, weary”)[10]
  • Old Saxon: sad (“sated”)[18]
  • Old Dutch: sad (“sated”)[4]
  • Old High German: sat (“sated, full”)[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sadaz
  2. ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *sađaz
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 419
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *sada-
  5. ^ a b c d e Heidermanns, Frank (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen Primäradjektive, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. sada-
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. saþs
  7. ^ a b Bammesberger, Alfred (1990), Die Morphologie des urgermanischen Nomens, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 249
  8. ^ Schaffner, Stefan (2001), Das Vernersche Gesetz und der innerparadigmatische grammatische Wechsel des Urgermanischen im Nominalbereich, Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 103, Innsbruck, p. 259
  9. ^ a b Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. sat
  10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sæd
  11. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *sadjaną
  12. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *sađjanan
  13. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *sadōn
  14. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *sadī-
  15. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 463
  16. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *sōþan
  17. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. saðr
  18. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sad

Related etymologies

  • *stainaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *beraną · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *fadēr · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *watōr · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *ga- · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *frijaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *fallaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *standaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
Cite this entry

“*sadaz.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/gem-pro/*sadaz. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·