English word origin

Etymology of sieve

From Middle English sive, syfe, from Old English sife, from Proto-West Germanic *sibi (“sieve”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyp-, *seyb- (“to pour, sieve, strain, run, drip”). Akin to German Sieb, Dutch zeef, Proto-Slavi

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.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗

verb

To strain, sift or sort using a sieve. · To concede; to let in.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionsiveenm
Inherited-form mentionsifeang
Inherited-form mention*sibigmw-pro
Derivation mention*seyp-ine-pro
Cognate mention*sitosla-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "sive"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English sive"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sife"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*sibi",
        "4": "",
        "5": "sieve"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *sibi (“sieve”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*seyp-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *seyp-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sla-pro",
        "2": "*sito"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Slavic *sito"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sive",
      "sive#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "syfe",
      "syfe#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "sife",
      "sife#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*sibi",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/sibi"
    ],
    [
      "*seyp-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/seyp-"
    ],
    [
      "*seyb-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/seyb-"
    ],
    [
      "Sieb",
      "Sieb#German"
    ],
    [
      "zeef",
      "zeef#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "*sito",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/sito"
    ],
    [
      "си́то",
      "сито#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "сев",
      "сев#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "се́ять",
      "сеять#Russian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To strain, sift or sort using a sieve.",
        "To concede; to let in."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
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Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗

noun

A device with a mesh, grate, or otherwise perforated bottom to separate, in a granular material, larger particles from smaller ones, or to separate solid objects from a liquid. · A kind of coarse basket. · One of several techniques for counting integers. · A collection of morphisms in a category whose codomain is a certain fixed object of that category, which collection is closed under precomposition by any morphism in the category.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionsiveenm
Inherited-form mentionsifeang
Inherited-form mention*sibigmw-pro
Derivation mention*seyp-ine-pro
Cognate mention*sitosla-pro

This page abbreviates 2 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": "inh",
      "args": {
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        "3": "sive"
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    },
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        "4": "",
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      },
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*seyp-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *seyp-"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sla-pro",
        "2": "*sito"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Slavic *sito"
    }
  ],
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      "sive",
      "sive#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "syfe",
      "syfe#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "sife#Old_English"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/sibi"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/seyp-"
    ],
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      "*seyb-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/seyb-"
    ],
    [
      "Sieb",
      "Sieb#German"
    ],
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      "zeef",
      "zeef#Dutch"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/sito"
    ],
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      "сито#Russian"
    ],
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      "сев#Russian"
    ],
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      "се́ять",
      "сеять#Russian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
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      "lang": "Pohnpeian",
      "lang_code": "pon",
      "word": "sihp",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
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        "A kind of coarse basket.",
        "One of several techniques for counting integers.",
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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 sieve →

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-c2lldmU