seven (English)

Where does "seven" come from?

The English numeral 'seven' descends from Middle English 'seven'[1][2] and Old English 'seofon'[1][3], which developed from Proto-West Germanic '*sebun'[1][3][6]. This form traces back to Proto-Germanic '*sebun', which evolved through a metathetic sound change from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root '*septḿ̥'[1][5]. Across its deep ancestry, the word retained its original numerical meaning, sharing common heritage with Latin 'septem' and Ancient Greek 'heptá'.

Open questions

Proto-Indo-European '*septḿ̥' may have been borrowed from Proto-Semitic '*šabʕ-' or shared as a regional culture word across ancient Anatolia and Mesopotamia. [4]
Proto-Germanic '*sebun' is reconstructed as descending from an intermediate form '*sebunt', altered by analogy with the numerals for nine and ten. [5]

Full etymology tree

seven (English), 'A numerical value equal to 7; the number following six and preceding eight. This many dots: (•••••••). Describing a group or set with seven elements.'
- inherited seven (Middle English), 'seven'
  - inherited seofon (Old English), 'seven'
    - inherited *sebun (Proto-West Germanic), 'seven'
      - inherited *sebun (Proto-Germanic), 'seven'
        derived *sebunt (Proto-Germanic)
        inherited *sepḿ̥t (Pre-Germanic)
        derived *septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'seven'
        borrowed *šabʕ- (Proto-Semitic), 'seven'
        inherited *sṗɣ (Proto-Afroasiatic)
        influenced by *newun (Proto-Germanic), 'nine'
        influenced by *tehun (Proto-Germanic), 'ten'

Ancestors

Cognates and doublets

ἑπτά (Ancient Greek)
syv (Danish)
zeven (Dutch)
sieben (German)
sjö (Icelandic)
septem (Latin)
семь (Russian)
सप्त (Sanskrit)
soogen (Saterland Frisian)
seiven (Scots)
sân (West Frisian)

Descendants and derived words

four score and seven years ago (English)

Sources

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris