Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗adj
Easily giving way under pressure. · Smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh. · Quiet. · Gentle.
noun
A soft-headed or foolish person; an idiot. · A soft drink. · A tyre whose compound is softer than mediums, and harder than supersofts. · A soft sound or part of a sound.
intj
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryBe quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Germanic *samþuz /*samftuz Proto-Indo-European *-yos Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Germanic *-jaz Proto-West Germanic *-ī Proto-West Germanic *samft(ī) Old English sōfte Middle English softe English soft From Middle English softe, from Old English sōfte, alteration of earlier sēfte (“soft”), from Proto-West Germanic *samft(ī) (“level, even, smooth, soft, gentle”) (compare *sōmiz (“agreeable, fitting”)), from Proto-Indo-European *semptio-, *semtio-, from *sem- (“one, whole”). Cognate with West Frisian sêft (“gentle; soft”), Dutch zacht (“soft”), German Low German sacht (“soft”), German sanft (“soft, yielding”), Old Norse sœmr (“agreeable, fitting”), samr (“same”). More at seem, same.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 37 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.
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"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:softe",
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},
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},
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"args": {
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"2": "enm",
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},
"expansion": "Middle English softe"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "sōfte"
},
"expansion": "Old English sōfte"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*samft(ī)",
"4": "",
"5": "level, even, smooth, soft, gentle"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *samft(ī) (“level, even, smooth, soft, gentle”)"
},
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"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*semptio-"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *semptio-"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "sêft",
"3": "",
"4": "gentle; soft"
},
"expansion": "West Frisian sêft (“gentle; soft”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "zacht",
"3": "",
"4": "soft"
},
"expansion": "Dutch zacht (“soft”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nds-de",
"2": "sacht",
"3": "",
"4": "soft"
},
"expansion": "German Low German sacht (“soft”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "sanft",
"3": "",
"4": "soft, yielding"
},
"expansion": "German sanft (“soft, yielding”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "non",
"2": "sœmr",
"3": "",
"4": "agreeable, fitting"
},
"expansion": "Old Norse sœmr (“agreeable, fitting”)"
},
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"name": "etymon",
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"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *sem-\nProto-Germanic *samþuz /*samftuz\nProto-Indo-European *-yos\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Germanic *-jaz\nProto-West Germanic *-ī\nProto-West Germanic *samft(ī)\nOld English sōfte\nMiddle English softe\nEnglish soft"
}
],
"links": [
[
"*sem-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sem-#Proto-Indo-European:_together"
],
[
"*-yos",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yos"
],
[
"*-yós",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yós"
],
[
"*-jaz",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-jaz#Proto-Germanic:_-ed"
],
[
"*-ī",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-ī#Proto-West_Germanic:_adjective"
],
[
"*samft(ī)",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/samft(ī)"
],
[
"sōfte",
"softe#Old_English:_adjective"
],
[
"softe",
"softe#Middle_English"
],
[
"softe",
"softe#Middle_English"
],
[
"sōfte",
"softe#Old_English"
],
[
"sēfte",
"sefte#Old_English"
],
[
"*samft(ī)",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/samft(ī)"
],
[
"*sōmiz",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sōmiz"
],
[
"*semptio-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/semptio-"
],
[
"*semtio-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/semtio-"
],
[
"*sem-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sem-"
],
[
"sêft",
"sêft#West_Frisian"
],
[
"zacht",
"zacht#Dutch"
],
[
"sacht",
"sacht#Low_German"
],
[
"sanft",
"sanft#German"
],
[
"sœmr",
"sœmr#Old_Norse"
],
[
"samr",
"samr#Old_Norse"
],
[
"seem",
"seem#English"
],
[
"same",
"same#English"
]
],
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"descendants": [],
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{
"pos": "adj",
"glosses": [
"Easily giving way under pressure.",
"Smooth and flexible; not rough, rugged, or harsh.",
"Quiet.",
"Gentle."
],
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"A soft drink.",
"A tyre whose compound is softer than mediums, and harder than supersofts.",
"A soft sound or part of a sound."
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"Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast."
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