*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of soe

From Middle English sō (“large tub, vat”), from Old English sā (“a tub, pail, vessel”) and/or Old Norse sár (“large cask”) (acc. s.sá), both from Proto-Germanic *saihaz (“bucket, vat”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk- (“

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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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

a large wooden vessel for carrying water, especially one to be carried on a pole between two people.

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

From Middle English sō (“large tub, vat”), from Old English sā (“a tub, pail, vessel”) and/or Old Norse sár (“large cask”) (acc. s.sá), both from Proto-Germanic *saihaz (“bucket, vat”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyk- (“to reach, grasp”). Cognate with Swedish så (“large wooden water vessel”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionsōenm · large tub, vat
  • Inherited-form mentionsāang
  • Derivation mentionsárnon · large cask
  • Inherited-form mention*saihazgem-pro · bucket, vat
  • Derivation mention*seyk-ine-pro · to reach, grasp
  • Cognate mentionsåsv · large wooden water vessel
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": "sō",
        "t": "large tub, vat"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English sō (“large tub, vat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sā",
        "4": "",
        "5": "a tub, pail, vessel"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sā (“a tub, pail, vessel”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "sár",
        "t": "large cask"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse sár (“large cask”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*saihaz",
        "t": "bucket, vat"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *saihaz (“bucket, vat”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*seyk-",
        "t": "to reach, grasp"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *seyk- (“to reach, grasp”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "så",
        "t": "large wooden water vessel"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish så (“large wooden water vessel”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sō",
      "so#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sā",
      "sa#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "sár",
      "sár#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "cask",
      "cask"
    ],
    [
      "sá",
      "sá#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*saihaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/saihaz"
    ],
    [
      "*seyk-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/seyk-"
    ],
    [
      "så",
      "så#Swedish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "a large wooden vessel for carrying water, especially one to be carried on a pole between two people."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "0b0a6c8fd436ae3347152cbc1cab45c32056c4badc80547b06b6846eed13d864",
      "rawRecordSha256": "98c45db3198f389090095164e4fcee125f5100d8cd0fcf2f0bc29c6e9cbae7c5",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 792441
    }
  ],
  "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 soe →

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-c29l