English word origin

Etymology of sot

5 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 5 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 ↗

noun

Stupid person; fool. · Drunkard.

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

From Middle English sot, from Old English sot, sott (“foolish, stupid”), from Medieval Latin sottus (“foolish”), of obscure origin and relation. Possibly an expressive interjection, similar to French zut! (“damn it!”). Compare Middle Low German sot (“insane, foolish, stupid”), Middle Dutch sot ("foolish, absurd, stupid"; > modern Dutch zot), French sot (“stupid, foolish, goofy”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionsotenm
Inherited-form mentionsotang
Cognate mentionzutfr · damn it!
Cognate mentionsotgml · insane, foolish, stupid
Cognate mentionsotdum
Cognate mentionzotnl
Cognate mentionsotfr · stupid, foolish, goofy

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "sot"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English sot"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sot"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sot"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "sottus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "foolish"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin sottus (“foolish”)"
    },
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        "title": "obscure"
      },
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        "2": "zut",
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      },
      "expansion": "French zut! (“damn it!”)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
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        "2": "sot",
        "t": "insane, foolish, stupid"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German sot (“insane, foolish, stupid”)"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "dum",
        "2": "sot"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch sot"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "zot"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch zot"
    },
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      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"foolish, absurd, stupid\"; > modern Dutch <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"nl\">zot</i>"
      },
      "expansion": "(\"foolish, absurd, stupid\"; > modern Dutch zot)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "sot",
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      },
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    }
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      "sot",
      "sot#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sot",
      "sot#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "sott",
      "sott#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "sottus",
      "sottus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "zut!",
      "zut#French"
    ],
    [
      "sot",
      "sot#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "sot",
      "sot#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Dutch",
      "w:Dutch language"
    ],
    [
      "zot",
      "zot#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "sot",
      "sot#French"
    ]
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        "Stupid person; fool.",
        "Drunkard."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To drink until one becomes drunk · To stupefy; to infatuate; to besot.

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

From Middle English sotten, from the adjective (see above).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionsottenenm

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "sotten",
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    ]
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

adj

Upset, unhappy or bitter about something.

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

Compare sod (vulgar interjection).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "Upset, unhappy or bitter about something."
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗

adj

Insane, crazy, screwed up.

verb

To short circuit, to go haywire or malfunction. · To go crazy.

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

From Cantonese short (sot¹, “crazy”), itself a clipping of English short circuit.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Derivation mentionshort circuiten

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "short",
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        "tr": "sot¹"
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Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗

verb

simple past and past participle of sit

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

Analogically formed on the model of get:got by those who use either git (“get”) or set (“sit”).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "simple past and past participle of sit"
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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 sot →

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-c290