Where does “crucify” come from?
Crucify comes from Middle English crucifien, from Old French crucefier, from Late Latin crucificare, from Latin crucifigo, ultimately from Latin crux meaning cross, derived from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- and sek-.
crucify (English): To execute by nailing to a cross; To punish or...
Definitions
- To execute by nailing to a cross; To punish or...
Ancestry of “crucify”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | crucifien | To crucify |
| 2 | Old French | crucefier | to crucify |
| 3 | Late Latin | crucificare | — |
| 4 | Latin | crucifigo | I crucify, fix on a cross |
| 5 | Latin | crux | wooden frame on which criminals were crucified,... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *kruks | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |
Words derived from “crucify”