Where does “saint” come from?
Saint comes from Old French saint, from Latin sanctus, the past participle of sancio meaning to consecrate or make holy, derived from Proto-Indo-European seh₂k-.
saint (English): A person whom a church or another religious group...
Definitions
- A person whom a church or another religious group...
Ancestry of “saint”, step by step
saint traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English seint
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | seint | saint |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | seint | Alternative form of saint |
| 3 | Old French | saint | saint; holy; pious; devout |
| 4 | Latin | sānctus | sacred, made inviolable, having been established as sacred |
| 5 | Latin | Iacobus | Jacob; James; Saint James |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | Ἰάκωβος | — |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | Ἰακώβ | Jacob |
| 8 | Hebrew | יַעֲקֹב | Jacob |
| 9 | Hebrew | עָקֵב | heel of the foot; heel |
via Middle English saint
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | saint | — |
via Middle English senct
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | senct | — |