Etymograph

English

blaspheme

Blaspheme comes from Ancient Greek βλασφημέω ‘to speak profanely of sacred things, blaspheme’, from βλάσφημος ‘uttering ill-omened words’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥-s-bʰeh₂-mo-s.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ml̥-s-bʰeh₂-mo-s1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*mləspʰāmos1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβλάσφημος2‘uttering ill-omened words’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβλασφημέω3blasphēméō‘to speak profanely of sacred things, blaspheme’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEblasphēmāre3
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400blasfemer3
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blasfemen3‘to blaspheme’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604blaspheme3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βλάσφημος, which cites Beekes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βλασφημέω
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English blaspheme
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “You do blaspheme the good in mocking me.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ml̥-s-bʰeh₂-mo-sWiktionary, Ancient Greek βλάσφημος, which cites Beekesreconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*mləspʰāmosWiktionary, Ancient Greek βλάσφημος, which cites Beekesreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβλάσφημοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek βλασφημέω‘uttering ill-omened words’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβλασφημέωWiktionary, English blasphemeblasphēméō‘to speak profanely of sacred things, blaspheme’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEblasphēmāreWiktionary, English blaspheme
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400blasfemerWiktionary, English blaspheme
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blasfemenWiktionary, English blaspheme‘to blaspheme’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604blasphemeWiktionary, English blaspheme. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “You do blaspheme the good in mocking me.”

Linked words

through Late Latin blasphēmāre

blame

Today it means

verb To commit blasphemy; to speak against God or religious doctrine.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “blaspheme”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βλάσφημος, Ancient Greek βλασφημέω. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ml̥-s-bʰeh₂-mo-s / blaspheme

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