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Today it means

seem

to give the impression of being a certain way

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Where does the word "seem" come from? It comes from Old Norse soema, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).

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Where does the word "seem" come from? It comes from Old Norse soema, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).

Seem’s story begins in Old Norse: soema meant “to be fitting, suitable.” From Norse 'sœmr', fitting, related to English 'seemly'. It reached English by 1200s as seem. Settled as the English word for appearing to be a certain way. Today, seem means to give the impression of being a certain way.

  1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval soema "to be fitting, suitable", from Norse 'sœmr', fitting, related to English 'seemly'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1200s seem "to give the impression of being something", settled as the English word for appearing to be a certain way.

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