Etymograph

English

scelestic

Scelestic comes from Latin scelestus ‘wicked, villainous, criminal, abominable’, from Proto-Indo-European *skel-os ~ *skel-es-os ‘curve, bending’, and perhaps ultimately from *skel-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skel-1‘to curve, bend’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skel-os ~ *skel-es-os1‘curve, bending’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skelos1uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscelus2‘wickedness’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscelestus2‘wicked, villainous, criminal, abominable’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1623scelestic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin scelus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English scelestic
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1623, Owen Feltham, Resolves: Divine: “scelestic villainies”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skel-Wiktionary, Latin scelus‘to curve, bend’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skel-os ~ *skel-es-osWiktionary, Latin scelus‘curve, bending’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skelosWiktionary, Latin scelusuncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscelusWiktionary, English scelestic‘wickedness’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscelestusWiktionary, English scelestic‘wicked, villainous, criminal, abominable’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1623scelesticWiktionary, English scelestic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1623, Owen Feltham, Resolves: Divine: “scelestic villainies”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *skel- ‘to curve, bend’

shall, squeal, 3 more

Today it means

adj evil; wicked; atrocious

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “scelestic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin scelus. 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 *skel- / scelestic

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