седем (Bulgarian)
Where does "седем" come from?
The Bulgarian word 'седем' traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥. It evolved through Proto-Slavic as *sedmь before being inherited by Old Church Slavonic, eventually standardizing into its modern form. Interestingly, scholars suggest this number may have originally functioned as a 'culture word,' reflecting early contact between Indo-European and Semitic peoples.
Full etymology tree
- седем (sedem) (Bulgarian), 'seven (7)'
- inherited седмь (sedmĭ) (Old Church Slavonic), 'seven'
- inherited *sedmь (Proto-Slavic), 'seven'
- inherited *septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'seven'
- borrowed *šabʕ- (Proto-Semitic), 'seven'
- inherited *sṗɣ (Proto-Afroasiatic)
- borrowed *šabʕ- (Proto-Semitic), 'seven'
- inherited *septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'seven'
- inherited *sedmь (Proto-Slavic), 'seven'
- inherited седмь (sedmĭ) (Old Church Slavonic), 'seven'
Ancestors
- седмь (Old Church Slavonic)
- *sedmь (Proto-Slavic)
- *septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European)
Updated July 2026
More words starting with OTHER
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris