Etymograph

English

blaspheming

Blaspheming comes from Late Latin blasphemo ‘to blaspheme, reproach, revile’, from Ancient Greek 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 BCEβλασφημέω3‘to speak profanely of sacred things, blaspheme’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEblasphemo4as blasphēmāre‘to blaspheme, reproach, revile’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400blasfemer4
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blasfemen5‘to blaspheme’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blasfemynge6as blasfemyng
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1823blaspheming6

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, Latin blasphemo
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Middle English blasfemen
  5. 5 Wiktionary, Middle English blasfemynge
  6. 6 Wiktionary, English blaspheming
  7. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1823, Elia pseudonym; Charles Lamb, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey: “Every character, from the boisterous blasphemings of Bajazet to…”.

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, Latin blasphemo‘to speak profanely of sacred things, blaspheme’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEblasphemoWiktionary, Middle English blasfemenas blasphēmāre‘to blaspheme, reproach, revile’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400blasfemerWiktionary, Middle English blasfemen
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blasfemenWiktionary, Middle English blasfemynge‘to blaspheme’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blasfemyngeWiktionary, English blasphemingas blasfemyng
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1823blasphemingWiktionary, English blaspheming. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1823, Elia pseudonym; Charles Lamb, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey: “Every character, from the boisterous blasphemings of Bajazet to…”

Formed from blaspheme + -ing

Proto-Indo-European *ml̥-s-bʰeh₂-mo-s

…

Ancient Greek βλασφημέω ‘to speak profanely of sacred things, blaspheme’

Late Latin blasphēmāre

Old French blasfemer

Middle English blasfemen ‘to blaspheme’

English blaspheme

Linked words

through Ancient Greek βλασφημέω ‘to speak profanely of sacred things, blaspheme’

blame, 2 more

Today it means

verb An act of blasphemy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “blaspheming”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βλάσφημος, Ancient Greek βλασφημέω, Latin blasphemo, Middle English blasfemen, Middle English blasfemynge. 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 / blaspheming

Shirt and support for this word