An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/sehr

by Friedrich Kluge

sehr, adv., ‘very greatly, very much’ (unknown to Suab. and Bav., arg, recht, gar being used), from MidHG. sêre, sêr, adv., ‘with pain, painfully, powerfully, very’; OHG. and OSax. sêro, ‘painfully, with difficulty, violently’; adv. form of OHG. and OSax. ser, ‘painfully,’ AS. sâr, adj., ‘painful, wounding.’ Allied to the substs. Goth. sair, AS. sâr, ‘pain’ (E. sore), OSax. sêr, OHG. and MidHG. sêr, n., ‘pain’; from the OTeut. adj. is derived Finn. sairas, ‘sick.’ The common Teut. saira- seems, like OIr. sáeth, sóeth, ‘hurt, disease,’ to point to a root sai, ‘to pain.’ The earlier meaning is preserved by Suab. and Bav. sêr, ‘wounded, painful,’ and versehren, ‘to wound’; comp. Du. zeer, ‘injured, injury, sickness, scab.’