sete (Portuguese)
Where does "sete" come from?
The Portuguese word 'sete' traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European term *septḿ̥, which has left its mark on countless daughter languages. It evolved through Latin as 'septem' before transitioning into Old Galician-Portuguese. From there, it shifted slightly into the modern Portuguese form we recognize today as the number seven.
Full etymology tree
- sete (Portuguese), 'seven'
- inherited sete (Old Galician-Portuguese)
- inherited septem (Latin), 'seven; 7'
- inherited *septəm (Proto-Italic), 'seven'
- inherited *septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'seven'
- borrowed *šabʕ- (Proto-Semitic), 'seven'
- inherited *septḿ̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'seven'
- inherited *septəm (Proto-Italic), 'seven'
- inherited septem (Latin), 'seven; 7'
- inherited sete (Old Galician-Portuguese)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris