*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Sun

From Middle English sunne, from Old English sunna, sunne (“sun; the Sun”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunnā, from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from the heteroclitic inanimate Proto-Indo-European *sh₂wén-, oblique form of *sóh₂w

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

The star at the center of the Solar System (our solar system), which shines in our sky. · The 91st sura (chapter) of the Qur'an. · An English tabloid newspaper.

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

From Middle English sunne, from Old English sunna, sunne (“sun; the Sun”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunnā, from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ, from the heteroclitic inanimate Proto-Indo-European *sh₂wén-, oblique form of *sóh₂wl̥ (“sun; the Sun”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sunne, West Frisian sinne, Dutch zon, Old Dutch sunna, German Low German Sünn, Old Saxon sunna, German Sonne, Old High German sunna, Faroese sunna, Icelandic sunna, Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 (sunnō). More at sun.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "sunne"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English sunne"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sunna, sunne",
        "4": "",
        "5": "sun; the Sun"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sunna, sunne (“sun; the Sun”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*sunnā"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *sunnā"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*sunnǭ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "",
        "4": "*sh₂wén-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *sh₂wén-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Sunne"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Sunne"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "sinne"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian sinne"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "zon"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch zon"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "odt",
        "2": "sunna"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Dutch sunna"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Sünn"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Sünn"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "osx",
        "2": "sunna"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon sunna"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Sonne"
      },
      "expansion": "German Sonne"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "sunna"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German sunna"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "sunna"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese sunna"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "sunna"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic sunna"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 (sunnō)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sunne",
      "sunne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sunna",
      "sunna#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "sunne",
      "sunne#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*sunnā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/sunnā"
    ],
    [
      "*sunnǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sunnǭ"
    ],
    [
      "heteroclitic",
      "heteroclitic"
    ],
    [
      "inanimate",
      "inanimate"
    ],
    [
      "*sóh₂wl̥",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sóh₂wl̥"
    ],
    [
      "Sunne",
      "Sunne#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "sinne",
      "sinne#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "zon",
      "zon#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "sunna",
      "sunna#Old_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Sünn",
      "Sünn#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "sunna",
      "sunna#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "Sonne",
      "Sonne#German"
    ],
    [
      "sunna",
      "sunna#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "sunna",
      "sunna#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "sunna",
      "sunna#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉",
      "𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "sun",
      "sun#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "The star at the center of the Solar System (our solar system), which shines in our sky.",
        "The 91st sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.",
        "An English tabloid newspaper."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "14ef23a665b18f8431121c64ea5c0c971050c22992696f4b1a6d187cbadb6c11",
      "rawRecordSha256": "aa024a171630e38c9857cd287acd1ced712dc8122c704813146eea2a85dcc2b8",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 333420
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
name

A surname.

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

From Mandarin 孫/孙 (Sūn), Wade-Giles romanization: Sun¹.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "+ (surname)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "孫",
        "2": "Sūn"
      },
      "expansion": "孫/孙 (Sūn)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "孫",
      "孫#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "孙",
      "孙#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "Wade-Giles",
      "Wade-Giles"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "07ba7fa14fc9f2f96e28494e6db920377f3dd135e0627825122b1c23fbf2c7c0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f76c696fe554e507c55aad3320e7400e9d5d95d7434ca279053942d531c05b88",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 333422
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "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 Sun →

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-U3Vu