*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of sax

From Middle English sax, sex, from Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”), from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“stone chip, knife”), from P

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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 ↗
verb

To cut or slash with a sharp instrument; incise; scarify.

noun

Alternative spelling of zax. · A knife or sword; a dagger about 50 cm (20 inches) in length. · An early medieval type of machete common with the Germanic peoples.

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

From Middle English sax, sex, from Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”), from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“stone chip, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). Doublet of seax and zax.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Root classification mention*sek-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentionsaxenm
  • Inherited-form mentionseaxang · a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger
  • Inherited-form mention*sahsgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*sahsągem-pro · stone chip, knife
  • Derivation mention*sek-ine-pro · to cut
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sek-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "sax"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English sax"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "seax",
        "t": "a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*sahs"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *sahs"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*sahsą",
        "t": "stone chip, knife"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“stone chip, knife”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sek-",
        "t": "to cut"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "seax",
        "3": "zax"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of seax and zax"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sax",
      "sax#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sex",
      "sex#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "seax",
      "seax#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*sahs",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/sahs"
    ],
    [
      "*sahsą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sahsą"
    ],
    [
      "*sek-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/sek-"
    ],
    [
      "seax",
      "seax#English"
    ],
    [
      "zax",
      "zax#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To cut or slash with a sharp instrument; incise; scarify."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal",
        "transitive"
      ],
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    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of zax.",
        "A knife or sword; a dagger about 50 cm (20 inches) in length.",
        "An early medieval type of machete common with the Germanic peoples."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "obsolete",
        "historical"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To play the saxophone

noun

Clipping of saxophone.

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

Clipping of saxophone. Distantly related to etymology 1 above, because the “Sax” surname is a cognate.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "saxophone"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of saxophone"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "saxophone",
      "saxophone#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To play the saxophone"
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "15ad31268c683c1124bf9024c8f169daac1e8d482e275d64616c5ab8183f40bd",
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    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Clipping of saxophone."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "clipping"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

a shade of colour similar to sky blue

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

Clipping of saxe blue, from the name of the region of Saxony.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "saxe blue"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of saxe blue"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "saxe blue",
      "saxe blue#English"
    ],
    [
      "Saxony",
      "Saxony#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "サックス",
      "roman": "sakkusu"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "a shade of colour similar to sky blue"
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "315af44243fd3417b07388b0346d2cfad1021031465129250701a298a2a7af3a",
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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 sax →

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-c2F4