Sans
/sænz/noun
Without; lacking or excluding something.
Did you know?In typography, “sans serif” literally means “without serifs,” making the word’s ancient meaning part of modern visual language.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
sine
“without; in the absence of”
Late Latin
Latin
sine
“without, lacking, or excluding”
Old French
Old French
senz
“without”
Anglo-Norman French
Anglo-Norman
sans
“without; except”
14th Century
English
sans
“without, used as a learned or French borrowing”
Modern English
English
sans
“without, especially in formal, literary, or design contexts”
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