Learn Vocabulary Through Etymology: "see Family"

Think of English as a giant family tree of words. Many words that seem different are actually distant cousins, all descended from a common ancestor. Learning these families helps you understand, remember, and use words more powerfully, because you see the core idea that connects them all.

Let's explore one of the biggest families, born from an ancient root meaning “to see” or “to follow”(if you follow something with your eyes, you see it).

The Big Idea: From SEEING to FOLLOWING to KNOWING

The ancestor of this family is the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root sekw-. This one idea branched out into major language groups that eventually gave us English.

1. Branch 1: The Germanic Family (The "See Branch")

These words came down directly from Old English/Germanic. They kept the core idea of seeing with your eyes.

• See: (verb) To perceive with the eyes.

• Sight: (noun) The power of seeing; something that is seen. (Verb: to sight a landmark = to see it).

• Seer: A prophet (someone who “sees” the future).

• Foresee: To see or know beforehand.

• Oversee: To watch over and direct (to “see over” a project).

• Insight: The power to understand the inner nature of things (to “see into” something).

• Eyesight: The ability to see.

2. Branch 2: The Latin Family (The "follow Branch")

These words entered English from Latin, mainly through French. The Latin verb sequi (to follow) comes from the same PIE root. Here, the idea shifted from seeing with eyes to following in order, in time, or in pursuit.

A. The Basic Idea of “To Follow”:

• Sequence: A following order of things (one thing follows another).

• Consequence: A result that follows from an action.

• Sequential: Arranged in a sequence.

• Sequela (pl. sequelae): A condition that follows a disease.

B. Following with Purpose (To Pursue):

• Pursue: To follow in order to catch or achieve. (Pur-* = forward).

• Pursuit: The act of pursuing.

• Sue (in law): To follow up legally, to seek justice (from following a case).

• Suit: A set of things that “follow” or go together (a suit of clothes, a suit in cards). A lawsuit follows the same idea.

• Suite: A set of connected rooms or musical pieces.

• Suitable: Appropriate (“able to follow or fit well”).

• Execute: To carry out, to follow through to the end. (Ex-* = out).

• Executive: A person who “executes” or carries out plans.

• Persecute: To harass persistently (to “follow through” in a harmful way).

• Prosecute: To follow up legally, to charge with a crime.

• Consecutive: Following one after another without interruption.

• Ensue: To happen afterward.

• Non sequitur: A statement that does not logically follow from what came before.

3. Branch 3: The Greek Family (The "watch/observe Branch")

Greek contributed another branch, focusing on watching, examining, and observing.

• Scope: The range of one’s view or observation. (From Greek skopein, to look at).

• Microscope/Telescope: Instruments for seeing the small or the distant.

• Horoscope: An observation of the hour (of one’s birth).

• Skeptic: Originally, an inquirer, someone who observes and questions.

• Bishop: A church overseer (from Greek episkopos: epi- “over” + skopos “watcher”).

Bonus Connections: From SEEING to SAYING and SEEKING

This root even extended to ideas about speaking and searching.

• Say / Saga / Saw (as in “old saying”): These are all related! The idea evolved from “to see/to know” → “to point out” → “to tell, to say.” A saga is a tale that is told.

• Seek: To look for, to go after. Connected to the idea of following a trail.

4.     The Family Tree Map

5. Why This Matters:

You’ve just learned the logic behind dozens of words by understanding one core idea (*sekw-). Instead of memorizing each word in isolation, you now have a mental map. When you see -secu- or -sequ- in a word, think “follow.” When you see scop-, think “look.” This is how native speakers intuitively build their vocabulary—by recognizing patterns and families, not by translation.

6. sekw-1：To follow.

▲ Derivatives include sequel, execute, pursue, society.

6.1. sect, segue, seguidilla, sequacious, sequel, sequence, sue, suit, suite, suitor; consequent, ensue, execute, obsequious, persecute, prosecute, pursue, subsequent from Latin sequī, to follow.

6.2. sequester, sequestrum from Latin sequester, "follower" mediator, depositary.

6.3. Suffixed (participial) form *sekw-ondo-. second2, secondo, secundines from Latin secundus, following, coming next, second.

6.4. Suffixed form *sekw-os, following. extrinsic, intrinsic from Latin secus, along, alongside of.

6.5. Suffixed form *sekw-no-. scarlet, scarlatina, seal1, segno, sigil, sign; assign, consign, designate, insignia, resign from Latin signum, identifying mark, sign (< "standard that one follows").

6.6. Suffixed o-grade form *sokw-yo-. sociable, social, society, socio-; associate, consociate, dissociate from Latin socius, ally, companion (< "follower"). 

“Suffixed Form”指的是在原始印欧语根后面添加特定的后缀，从而创造出具有特定语法功能（如名词、形容词、分词）或细微含义差别的新词干。

 后缀 -os, -ondo-, -no-, -yo- ，扩大了词根的应用，形成了各种词类，带有不同的含义。

以下是针对这些具体后缀的详细解释：

1. *sekw-ondo- (带 -ondo- 后缀的形式)

• 后缀功能：-ondo- 是一个非常典型的现在分词后缀。它给动词词根添加了 “正在做…的” 或主动的、进行中的含义。

◦ 词干 *sekw-ondo-： -ondo- ≈ “-ing”，表主动、进行，意为 “正在跟随的”。

◦ 进入拉丁语后，演变为 secundus。

◦ 含义演变：“正在跟随的” → “紧接着来的” → “第二的”（即跟在第一个之后的）。

◦ 衍生词：second（第二）, secondo（意大利语：第二）, secundines（胎胞，即跟随胎儿之后娩出的东西）。

2. *sekw-os (带 -os 后缀的形式)

• 后缀功能：-os（或 -es）是一个极其常见的名词性后缀，用于将动词词根转化为抽象名词或施事名词（即做这个动作的人/物）。

◦ 词干 *sekw-os， -os ≈ 把动作变成事物或状态，意为“跟随”这个行为或状态。

◦ 进入拉丁语后，演变为 secus。

◦ 含义演变：从抽象名词“跟随”引申为具体的方位 “沿着…旁边”（即跟随一条线或路径）。

◦ 衍生词：extrinsic（外在的，在外面的线旁），intrinsic（内在的，在里面的线旁）。这里的“线”引申为“特征”或“本质”。

3. *sekw-no- (带 -no- 后缀的形式)

• 后缀功能：-no- 是一个工具格或结果名词后缀。它表示由该动作产生的结果、工具，或与之相关的具体事物。

◦ 词干 *sekw-no- ，-no- ≈ 动作产生的工具或结果，意为 “（用于）跟随的东西” 或 “跟随产生的结果”。

◦ 进入拉丁语后，演变为 signum。

◦ 含义演变：“（用于）跟随的东西” → “标志、记号、信号”（军队用来让士兵“跟随”的旗帜，路标用来让人“跟随”的指示）。

◦ 衍生词：sign（标志）, signal, designate（指定，做下记号）, consign（托运，一起做记号）, resign（辞职，再次做记号）。

◦ 有趣分支：seal（印章，是做记号的东西），scarlet（猩红色，源自一种用红色“记号”封印的昂贵布料）。

4. *sokw-yo- (带 -yo- 后缀的形式)

• 词根变化：注意这里的词根变成了 sokw-，这是 sekw- 的 “o-级元音变换”（一种常见的内部屈折变化）。

• 后缀功能：-yo- 是一个非常通用的形容词后缀，意为 “与…相关的” 或 “具有…性质的”。

◦ 词干 *sokw-yo-： -yo- ≈ “-al”, “-ic”，表具有某种性质意为 “与跟随相关的”。

◦ 进入拉丁语后，演变为 socius。

◦ 含义演变：“与跟随相关的（跟随周围的人/组织/团体/事物/事务” → “同伴、盟友”（即跟随你、与你为伍的人）。

◦ 衍生词：social（社会的）, society（社会）, associate（联合，使成为同伴）, dissociate（分离，使不再为伴）。

注释：英语单词是“一词三源”（日耳曼、拉丁和希腊），它们共同来源于原始印欧语词根，在此得到很好体现。原始印欧语词根*sekw-， 元音包含三个音变等级：e级（基础元音）、o级（变体元音）和零级（元音脱落）。日耳曼取其词首辅音s和e级，结果是se-和si-; 拉丁语取其se+qui-(kw=qui,辅音形变)；希腊语取其首辅音s和零级，增加了后缀，结果为scope(c=k).

一词三源”既容易理解又容易记忆。