sceau
French
Etymology
From Old French seel (whence also English seal), from Vulgar Latin *segellum, from Latin sigillum. The spelling with sc- was introduced in Middle French (with -c- loosely representing the Latin -g-) in order to distinguish from unrelated seau (“bucket”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /so/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -so, -o
- Homophones: saut, sauts, sceaux, seau, seaux (general), sot, sots (except regionally)
Noun
sceau m (plural sceaux)
- seal (pattern; design)
Derived terms
- sceau de Salomon
Related terms
- sceller
Descendants
- → Norman: sceau
Further reading
- “sceau”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- cause, causé, sauce
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French seel. The change in spelling from ⟨seau⟩ to ⟨sceau⟩ is unexplained, although it may be to disambiguate with seau (“bucket”)[1].
Noun
sceau m (plural sceaulx)
- seal (a stamp in wax to seal a letter)
Descendants
- French: sceau
- → Norman: sceau
References
- sceau on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)
- Etymology and history of “sceau”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Norman
Etymology
Borrowed from French sceau.
Noun
sceau m (plural sceaus)
- (Guernsey) seal
Derived terms
- Jean des sceaus (“ring finger”)