Etymology Explorer › Russian

Where does “кретин” come from?

кретин (Russian) comes from French crétin, from French crestin, from French chrétien, from Old French chrestien, from Latin Christiānus, from Latin Chrīstus, from Ancient Greek Χριστός, from Ancient Greek χρίω — to rub; to stroke; to grind.

кретин (Russian): cretin, idiot

Definitions

  1. cretin, idiot

Ancestry of “кретин”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchcrétincretin
2FrenchcrestinChristian
3FrenchchrétienChristian
4Old FrenchchrestienChristian
5LatinChristiānus—
6LatinChrīstus—
7Ancient GreekΧριστόςanointed; messiah; annointed, the annointed one,...
8Ancient Greekχρίωto smear with , rub on something; to anoint with...
9Proto-Indo-Europeangʰrēy-to smear; to paint, streak, smear
10Proto-Indo-Europeangʰer-to rub; to stroke; to grind
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰer- →