English
condemn
Condemn comes from Old French condamner ‘to condemn’, from Latin damnum ‘damage, injury, loss’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- ‘to sacrifice’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂p-1‘to sacrifice’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dh₂pnóm1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dapnom1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdamnum1‘damage, injury, loss’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdamnō1‘to sentence someone to a punishment, declare guilty, condemn, damn, doom, convict, judge’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondemnō1‘to condemn, convict, sentence’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondemnāre1‘to sentence, condemn, blame’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400condamner1‘to condemn’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500condempnen1‘to condemn, denounce, criticise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1722condemn1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English condemn
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1722, William Wollaston: “Ignorant and ſuperſtitious wretches meaſure the actions of letterd…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂p-Wiktionary, English condemn‘to sacrifice’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dh₂pnómWiktionary, English condemnreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dapnomWiktionary, English condemnreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdamnumWiktionary, English condemn‘damage, injury, loss’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdamnōWiktionary, English condemn‘to sentence someone to a punishment, declare guilty, condemn, damn, doom, convict, judge’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondemnōWiktionary, English condemn‘to condemn, convict, sentence’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondemnāreWiktionary, English condemn‘to sentence, condemn, blame’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400condamnerWiktionary, English condemn‘to condemn’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500condempnenWiktionary, English condemn‘to condemn, denounce, criticise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1722condemnWiktionary, English condemn. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1722, William Wollaston: “Ignorant and ſuperſtitious wretches meaſure the actions of letterd…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- ‘to sacrifice’
through Latin damnum ‘damage, injury, loss’
damage, damn, indemnity, 6 more
through Latin damnō ‘to sentence someone to a punishment, declare…’
Today it means
verb To strongly criticise or denounce; to excoriate.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “condemn”. 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 *deh₂p- / condemn