*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of sewer

From Middle English sewer, seuer, from Anglo-Norman sewere (“water-course”), from Old French sewiere (“overflow channel for a fishpond”), from Vulgar Latin *exaquāria (“drain for carrying water off”), from Latin ex (“out

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 ↗
noun

A pipe or channel, or system of pipes or channels, used to remove human waste and to provide drainage.

verb

To provide (a place) with a system of sewers.

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

From Middle English sewer, seuer, from Anglo-Norman sewere (“water-course”), from Old French sewiere (“overflow channel for a fishpond”), from Vulgar Latin *exaquāria (“drain for carrying water off”), from Latin ex (“out of, from”) + aquāria (“of or pertaining to waters”) or from a root *exaquāre.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionsewerenm
  • Unspecified derivation mentionsewierefro
  • Unspecified derivation mentionexla
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      },
      "expansion": ""
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      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
    },
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        "2": "ine",
        "3": "h₂ékʷeh₂"
      },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "sewer"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English sewer"
    },
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        "2": "xno",
        "3": "sewere",
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    },
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        "2": "fro",
        "3": "sewiere",
        "4": "",
        "5": "overflow channel for a fishpond"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French sewiere (“overflow channel for a fishpond”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-vul",
        "3": "*exaquāria",
        "4": "",
        "5": "drain for carrying water off"
      },
      "expansion": "Vulgar Latin *exaquāria (“drain for carrying water off”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "ex",
        "4": "",
        "5": "out of, from"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ex (“out of, from”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sewer",
      "sewer#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "seuer#Middle_English"
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      "sewere#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "sewiere",
      "sewiere#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*exaquāria",
      "Reconstruction:Latin/exaquaria"
    ],
    [
      "ex",
      "ex#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "aquāria",
      "aquaria#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*exaquāre",
      "Reconstruction:Latin/exaquare"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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        "A pipe or channel, or system of pipes or channels, used to remove human waste and to provide drainage."
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      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

An official in charge of a princely household, also responsible for the ceremonial task of attending at dinners, seating the guests and serving dishes.

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

From Middle English seware, seuere, from Anglo-Norman asseour, from Old French asseoir (“find a seat for”), from Latin assidēre, present active infinitive of assideō (“attend to”), from ad (“to, towards, at”) + sedeō (“sit”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionsewareenm
  • Unspecified derivation mentionasseoirfro
  • Unspecified derivation mentionassidērela
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "en",
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        "3": "seware"
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    },
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      "name": "uder",
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        "2": "xno",
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      },
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    },
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        "4": "",
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      },
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    },
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      "asseour#Old_French"
    ],
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      "asseoir#Old_French"
    ],
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      "assidere#Latin"
    ],
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      "assideo#Latin"
    ],
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    ],
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    ]
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

One who sews. · A small tortricid moth, the larva of which sews together the edges of a leaf using silk.

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

sew + -er

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 sewer →

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
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c2V3ZXI