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seges

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word seges

Confidence
Disputed
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 450 BC, Twelve Tables

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsɛ.ɡɛs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsɛː.d͡ʒes][1]

Forms

seges f (genitive segetis); third declension[1] Cato and Varro have an ablative segetī.[2]

Etymology

The OLD calls the origin doubtful.[2] De Vaan derives it from Proto-Italic *seg-et- (“seed, sown land”), from Proto-Indo-European *seg-e/o- (“to adhere, fasten”), cognate with Welsh heu (“to sow, strew”) and Sanskrit सजति (sajati, “adheres, hangs on”);[3] Schumacher explains the shift to “sow” through “imprint, put in”.[3] Köbler sets up a root ⟨*seg-⟩ “to sow”, after Pokorny.[4] Lewis & Short suggested a root ⟨sag-⟩ “to fill, feed”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Twelve Tables forbid luring away another man's crop by magic: neve alienam segetem pellexeris.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

It is a field of standing corn or another crop, and the crop itself, and also arable land, as Cato says the bailiff must not cheat the land.[2][1] Figuratively it is any crop or produce, a result or profit, and a thick growth or multitude.[1] De Vaan connects it with Sēia, the goddess of the corn at sowing time.[3]

Church Latin glosses it “corn, harvest, crop, produce”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – The Twelve Tables on luring away another's crop.[2][4]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato of arable land.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A field of standing corn; a crop.[2][1][6]
  2. Arable land, soil.[2][1]
  3. (figurative) Produce, result, profit; a thick growth, multitude.[1]

Word family

  • amsegetes
  • segetalis

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Seges.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/seges. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·