Etymology Explorer › Latin

Where does “crimen” come from?

crimen (Latin) comes from Proto-Italic kreimen, from Proto-Indo-European kréymn̥, from Proto-Indo-European krey- — to sift, separate, divide.

Ancestry of “crimen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Italickreimen—
2Proto-Indo-Europeankréymn̥—
3Proto-Indo-Europeankrey-to sift, separate, divide
Every word from Proto-Indo-European krey- →