sibun (Old High German)
Where does "sibun" come from?
The Old High German numeral 'sibun' descends from Proto-West Germanic '*sebun'[1], which continues Proto-Germanic '*sebun'[2]. This Germanic form traces back to earlier '*sebunt' and Pre-Germanic '*sepḿ̥t', representing a metathetic alteration of Proto-Indo-European '*septḿ̥' meaning 'seven'[3]. This ancient Indo-European term shows striking similarity to Proto-Semitic '*šabʕ-' and other language family terms, suggesting it may have functioned as a culture word reflecting early contact in Anatolia and Mesopotamia[4].
Open questions
- The Pre-Germanic form '*sebunt' may involve a metathetic alteration where the final consonant was influenced by the numerals for nine and ten. [3]
- The Proto-Indo-European term may be a borrowing from Proto-Semitic or part of an ancient network of shared culture words in the Near East. [4]
Full etymology tree
- sibun (Old High German), 'seven'
- inherited *sebun (Proto-West Germanic), 'seven'
- inherited *sebun (Proto-Germanic), 'seven'
- inherited *sebunt (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *sepḿ̥t (Pre-Germanic)
- derived *septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'seven'
- influenced by *newun (Proto-Germanic), 'nine'
- influenced by *tehun (Proto-Germanic), 'ten'
- inherited *sepḿ̥t (Pre-Germanic)
- inherited *sebunt (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *sebun (Proto-Germanic), 'seven'
- inherited *sebun (Proto-West Germanic), 'seven'
Ancestors
Sources
- sibun (Old High German) - Wiktionary
- sebun (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
- sebun (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
- septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- šabʕ- (Proto-Semitic) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris