Etymograph

English

crimeware

Crimeware comes from Proto-Germanic *warō ‘a good, merchandise, ware’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*warō1‘a good, merchandise, ware’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waru1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150waru1
  4. English1500–presentsoftware1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2007crimeware1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English crimeware
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Harold F Tipton, Micki Krause: “Technical subterfuge schemes plant crimeware onto PCs to steal…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*warōWiktionary, English crimeware‘a good, merchandise, ware’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*waruWiktionary, English crimewarereconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150waruWiktionary, English crimeware
  4. English1500–presentsoftwareWiktionary, English crimeware
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2007crimewareWiktionary, English crimeware. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Harold F Tipton, Micki Krause: “Technical subterfuge schemes plant crimeware onto PCs to steal…”

A compound of crime + -ware

Latin crīmen ‘charge, crime’

Old French crime

Middle English cryme ‘crime’

English crime

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to heed, watch, guard, protect’

wear, guard, con, garage, regard, ward, worm, verge, optic, warn, weir, panorama, garrison, reverence, beware, vermin, revere, wry, vermilion, prosaic, diorama, guaranty, milliner, vermicelli, vermiculite, varmint, vermeil, 64 more

through English software

malware, firmware, freeware, shareware, 20 more

Today it means

noun Software that performs or facilitates illegal activities.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “crimeware”. 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-Germanic *warō / crimeware

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