Etymograph

English

critique

Critique comes from New Latin criticus ‘critical’, from Ancient Greek κριτικός ‘of or for judging, able to discern’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-1‘to sift, separate, divide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krinyéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kríňňō1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρῑ́νω1krī́nō‘to separate, divide, part, distinguish between two things or people or among a group of…’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρῐτής1krĭtḗs‘judge’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκριτικός1kritikós‘of or for judging, able to discern’
  7. New Latinc. 1500–1900criticus2‘critical’
  8. New Latinc. 1500–1900critica2feminine of criticus
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentcritique2
  10. Englishearliest quotation a. 1720critique2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin criticus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English critique
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1720, Joseph Addison, Dialogue III. A Parallel between the Ancient and Modern Meda: “I ſhould as ſoon expect to ſee a Critique…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-Wiktionary, Latin criticus‘to sift, separate, divide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krinyétiWiktionary, Latin criticusreconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kríňňōWiktionary, Latin criticusreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρῑ́νωWiktionary, Latin criticuskrī́nō‘to separate, divide, part, distinguish between two things or people or among a group of…’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρῐτήςWiktionary, Latin criticuskrĭtḗs‘judge’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκριτικόςWiktionary, Latin criticuskritikós‘of or for judging, able to discern’
  7. New Latinc. 1500–1900criticusWiktionary, English critique‘critical’
  8. New Latinc. 1500–1900criticaWiktionary, English critiquefeminine of criticus
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentcritiqueWiktionary, English critique
  10. Englishearliest quotation a. 1720critiqueWiktionary, English critique. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1720, Joseph Addison, Dialogue III. A Parallel between the Ancient and Modern Meda: “I ſhould as ſoon expect to ſee a Critique…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’

certain, secretary, secret, crime, criminal, crisis, discrimination, discretion, discrete, discreet, discriminate, riddle, discern, criterion, endocrine, excrement, excretion, incriminate, rime, excrete, ridder, incrimination, recrimination, certitude, 46 more

through Ancient Greek κρῑ́νω ‘to separate, divide, part, distinguish between…’

hypocrite, criterium, 7 more

Today it means

noun The art of criticism.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “critique”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin criticus. 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- / critique

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