*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of payee

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *péh₂ḱs Proto-Italic *pāks Latin pāx Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-Europea

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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

Original entry ↗
noun

one to whom money is paid.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *péh₂ḱs Proto-Italic *pāks Latin pāx Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin pācō Old French paiierbor. Middle English payen English pay English -ee English payee From pay + -ee.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "pay",
        "4": "-ee<id:object of action>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ-\nProto-Indo-European *-s\nProto-Indo-European *péh₂ḱs\nProto-Italic *pāks\nLatin pāx\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-yéti\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.\nProto-Italic *-ājō\nProto-Italic *-āō\nLatin -ō\nLatin pācō\nOld French paiierbor.\nMiddle English payen\nEnglish pay\nEnglish -ee\nEnglish payee\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"pacify\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"peace\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"peace\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*péh₂ḱs\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"join\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*peh₂ḱ-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"hysterokinetic\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-s\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*pāks\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"pāx\", \"gloss\" : \"peace\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"id\" : \"denominative\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"suf\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*-ājō\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"suf\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\", \"pos\" : \"suffix originally used to form collective nouns, extended in Late PIE to also be a marker of feminine gender\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-éh₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"intransitive verbs\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-eh₂yéti\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" }, { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"influ.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Influenced by\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₂ti\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"influence\" } ], \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-āō\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ō\", \"lang\" : \"la\", \"pos\" : \"verb-forming suffix forming verbs from nouns or adjectives\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"pācō\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"paiier\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"payen\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"pay\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"id\" : \"object of action\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ee\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"payee\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"payee\">\nFrom pay + -ee."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "pay",
        "4": "-ee<id:object of action>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ-\nProto-Indo-European *-s\nProto-Indo-European *péh₂ḱs\nProto-Italic *pāks\nLatin pāx\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-yéti\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.\nProto-Italic *-ājō\nProto-Italic *-āō\nLatin -ō\nLatin pācō\nOld French paiierbor.\nMiddle English payen\nEnglish pay\nEnglish -ee\nEnglish payee\nFrom pay + -ee."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*peh₂ḱ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/peh₂ḱ-#Proto-Indo-European:_join"
    ],
    [
      "*-s",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-s#Proto-Indo-European:_hysterokinetic"
    ],
    [
      "*pāks",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/pāks#Proto-Italic:_peace"
    ],
    [
      "pāx",
      "pax#Latin:_peace"
    ],
    [
      "*-h₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-h₂#Proto-Indo-European:_collective_nouns"
    ],
    [
      "*-éh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-éh₂#Proto-Indo-European:_collective_nouns"
    ],
    [
      "*-yéti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yéti#Proto-Indo-European:_intransitive_verbs"
    ],
    [
      "*-eh₂yéti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-eh₂yéti#Proto-Indo-European:_suf"
    ],
    [
      "*-h₂ti",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-h₂ti"
    ],
    [
      "*-āō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-āō#Proto-Italic:_suf"
    ],
    [
      "-ō",
      "-o#Latin:_denominative"
    ],
    [
      "pācō",
      "paco#Latin:_pacify"
    ],
    [
      "paiier",
      "paiier#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "payen",
      "payen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "pay",
      "pay#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ee",
      "-ee#English:_object_of_action"
    ],
    [
      "pay",
      "pay#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ee",
      "-ee#English:_object_of_action"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "one to whom money is paid."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "c359925e4a8a2fc9ca858f92c38a1d490a3747e7ef63be5f8f58ed4e9edd2637",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6756c48ae4628c836f1cc646031af9bd71ffed3773ab032e845cfa11983b6629",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 253031
    }
  ],
  "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 payee →

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-cGF5ZWU