Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “blasphemy” come from?

Blasphemy comes from Middle English blasfemye, from Old French blasfemie, from Ecclesiastical Latin blasphemia, from Ancient Greek βλασφημέω meaning to speak profanely, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂-.

blasphemy (English): An act of irreverence or contempt toward a god or...

Definitions

  1. An act of irreverence or contempt toward a god or...

Ancestry of “blasphemy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishblasfemie—
2Old Frenchblasfemieblasphemy
3Ecclesiastical Latinblasphemiablasphemy; slander, reviling
4Ancient Greekβλασφημίαprofanity; slander, blasphemy
5Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
6Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
7Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “blasphemy”

  • blaspheme
  • blasphemeth
  • blasphemest
  • blasphemist
  • antiblasphemy
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →