Where does “criminal” come from?
criminal (Old French) comes from Latin crīminālis, from Latin crīmen, from Proto-Italic kreimen, from Proto-Indo-European kréymn̥, from Proto-Indo-European krey- — to sift, separate, divide.
criminal (Old French): criminal; illegal; against the law
Definitions
- criminal; illegal; against the law
Ancestry of “criminal”, step by step
criminal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin crīminālis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | crīminālis | criminal |
| 2 | Latin | crīmen | a judicial decision, verdict, or judgment |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | kreimen | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | kréymn̥ | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | krey- | to sift, separate, divide |
via Late Latin criminalis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | criminalis | criminal |