sing
To make musical sounds with the voice, especially words set to a melody.
PIE *sengʷʰ-
Etymology
From Old English singan (to sing, chant, recite), from Proto-Germanic *singwaną, from PIE *sengʷʰ- (to sing, to make an incantation). Greek omphē (divine voice) may be a distant cognate. The word has remained remarkably stable in meaning across thousands of years — singing has always meant singing.
The Journey: *sengʷʰ- → sing
PIE
*sengʷʰ-
Proto-Germanic
*singwaną
Old English
singan
Modern English
sing
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *sengʷʰ-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Dutch | zingen — to sing |
| German | singen — to sing |
| Gothic | siggwan — to sing |
| Old Norse | syngva — to sing |
Did You Know?
Song, sing, and singer are all from the same root, and the word has barely changed its meaning in over 5,000 years — a rare example of semantic stability across the entire Indo-European family.