Where does “blame” come from?
blame (Middle Dutch) comes from Old French blasme, from Old French blasmer, from Latin blastēmāre, from Ancient Greek βλασφημέω, from Ancient Greek βλάσφημος, from Ancient Greek φήμη, from Proto-Hellenic pʰā́mā, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂-meh₂.
Ancestry of “blame”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | blasme | blame; guilt, culpability; inflection of... |
| 2 | Old French | blasmer | to blame |
| 3 | Latin | blastēmāre | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | βλασφημέω | I speak profanely of sacred things, blaspheme; I... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | βλάσφημος | uttering ill-omened words; jinx; reviling,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | φήμη | prophetic voice, oracle; rumor; reputation |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | pʰā́mā | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂-meh₂ | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂- | to shine, glow light; to speak, say |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂-s-ri- | — |