Etymograph

English

criminal

Criminal comes from Anglo-Norman criminal, from Late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen ‘judgment; crime’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-1‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kréymn̥1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kreimən1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrimen2‘judgment, verdict; crime’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcriminalis2
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400criminal2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cryminal2‘relating to crime’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1711criminal2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin crimen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English criminal
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1711, SUNDAY, March 19, 1710–1711: “Foppish and fantastic ornaments are only indications of vice,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-Wiktionary, Latin crimen‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kréymn̥Wiktionary, Latin crimenreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kreimənWiktionary, Latin crimenreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrimenWiktionary, English criminal‘judgment, verdict; crime’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcriminalisWiktionary, English criminal
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400criminalWiktionary, English criminal
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cryminalWiktionary, English criminal‘relating to crime’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1711criminalWiktionary, English criminal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1711, SUNDAY, March 19, 1710–1711: “Foppish and fantastic ornaments are only indications of vice,…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with criminal, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘sieve’

  • certain ← certeyn ← *certānus ← certus ← *kritos
  • secretary ← secrētus ← secernere ← cernō ← *krinō
  • secret ← sēcrētum
  • crisis ← κρίσις ← κρίνω
  • discretion ← discrecioun ← discrētiō ← discerno ← cernō
  • discrimination ← discriminatio ← discrīminō ← discrīmen ← discernō
  • critic ← critique ← criticus ← κριτικός ← κρίνω
  • critique ← critica ← criticus ← κριτικός ← κρῐτής
  • discrete ← discret ← discrētus ← discernō ← cernō
  • discreet ← discrete ← discret ← discrētus
  • riddle ← riddil ← hriddel ← *hrīdrā ← *hrīdrą
  • discern ← discernen ← discerner ← discernere ← cernō

64 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Against the law; forbidden by law.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “criminal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin crimen. 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 *krey- / criminal