*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Sage

* As an English and French surname, from sage, a nickname for a wise person. The given name, in general use since the 1990s, is also associated with the sage plant. Compare Desage, Lesage. * As an Irish surname, variant

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

A surname transferred from the nickname. · A male given name from English. · A female given name from English. · One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca, representing a man, older than a middle-aged Father and boyish Master

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* As an English and French surname, from sage, a nickname for a wise person. The given name, in general use since the 1990s, is also associated with the sage plant. Compare Desage, Lesage. * As an Irish surname, variant of Savage. * As a German surname, from a placename derived from the noun sege (“sedge”) (see sedge).

This page abbreviates 5 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "French"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "German"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sage",
      "sage#English:_wise_person"
    ],
    [
      "sage",
      "sage#English:_Salvia_officinalis"
    ],
    [
      "Desage",
      "Desage#English"
    ],
    [
      "Lesage",
      "Lesage#English"
    ],
    [
      "Savage",
      "Savage#English"
    ],
    [
      "sege",
      "sege#German"
    ],
    [
      "sedge",
      "sedge#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname transferred from the nickname.",
        "A male given name from English.",
        "A female given name from English.",
        "One of the triune gods of the Horned God in Wicca, representing a man, older than a middle-aged Father and boyish Master"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "f559ae97fa45110e6029e51371163a3515cf889ac2d2d84212994ba6328559c5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "3f71d1df907c1400eb1fc2f61a4aff4cc2a933b0948b5677656c3adc12442bc9",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 332580
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 5,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Sage →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-U2FnZQ