*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of seme

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyh₂-? Proto-Indo-European *dʰyeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *dʰyéh₂mn̥ Proto-Hellenic *tsā́mə? Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma)lbor. English seme Learned borrowing fro

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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

Anything which serves for any purpose as a substitute for an object of which it is, in some sense, a representation, sign, or symbol.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyh₂-? Proto-Indo-European *dʰyeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *dʰyéh₂mn̥ Proto-Hellenic *tsā́mə? Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma)lbor. English seme Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "grc:σῆμα",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeyh₂-?\nProto-Indo-European *dʰyeh₂-\nProto-Indo-European *-mn̥\nProto-Indo-European *dʰyéh₂mn̥\nProto-Hellenic *tsā́mə?\nAncient Greek σῆμα (sêma)lbor.\nEnglish seme\n[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*tsā́mə\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*dʰyéh₂mn̥\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*dʰyeh₂-\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*dʰeyh₂-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\", \"pos\" : \"root\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-mn̥\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"ine-pro\", \"id\" : \"suffix\", \"pos\" : \"suffix\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-mn̥\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*-mə\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-μα\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"afeq\", \"is_invisible\" : \"all\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"σῆμα\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"seme\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"seme\">\nLearned borrowing from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "grc:σῆμα",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeyh₂-?\nProto-Indo-European *dʰyeh₂-\nProto-Indo-European *-mn̥\nProto-Indo-European *dʰyéh₂mn̥\nProto-Hellenic *tsā́mə?\nAncient Greek σῆμα (sêma)lbor.\nEnglish seme\nLearned borrowing from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*dʰeyh₂-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dʰeyh₂-"
    ],
    [
      "*-mn̥",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-mn̥"
    ],
    [
      "σῆμα",
      "σῆμα#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "σῆμα",
      "σῆμα#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Anything which serves for any purpose as a substitute for an object of which it is, in some sense, a representation, sign, or symbol."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "298d65101faf7e642c8d644329350b7b075e50ece257d8c5047a57cbe83fef9d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b03c7f12bc1d811747772ddcbe69843cf1045d02ee8b0d2a96ca7d1ff81f71d2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 5073
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗
noun

An active or dominant male character in a same-sex relationship; a top.

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

Borrowed from Japanese 攻め (seme), derived from the verb 攻める (semeru, “to attack”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ja",
        "3": "攻め",
        "tr": "seme"
      },
      "expansion": "Japanese 攻め (seme)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "攻め",
      "攻め#Japanese"
    ],
    [
      "攻める",
      "攻める#Japanese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An active or dominant male character in a same-sex relationship; a top."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Japanese",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "40b079bfd2ebb28e7c2e95133dc8b7f7c9cc10b743d381fd782047d3530cba7e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ce77b74dd631fc0c4dfb95a4880fda0d890e7a3022fbead838dc20b46cb69c37",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 5077
    }
  ],
  "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 seme →

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-c2VtZQ