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incrimino

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word incrimino

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 530 Liber pontificalis More words from the 6th century
Ultimate origin
Latin crīminō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin incrīminō
English incriminate

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪŋˈkriː.mɪ.noː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [iŋˈkriː.mi.no][1]

Forms

incrīminō (present infinitive incrīmināre, perfect active incrīmināvī, supine incrīminātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in-1 + crīminō.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's records begin with the Sortes Sangallenses and the scholia on Persius, which are undated, where it means to accuse or slander; the scholiast says that Socrates, accused of a shameful love for Alcibiades, took poison.[2][3] The first dated record is the Liber pontificalis, of about 530.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It is mostly found in the passive, and a deponent form incriminor also occurs.[2] In medieval Latin it meant to accuse or charge someone with a crime, with the crime in the ablative or the genitive, and more loosely to bring someone into disrepute.[5] It appears in the Lex Frisionum and in the Carolingian councils.[5]

English incriminate (1730) is a back-formation from incrimination or comes from the medieval Latin participle incriminatus.[6] Catalan, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish borrowed the verb as well.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 530 AD – The Liber pontificalis uses it of a person being accused.[2][4]
  • 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours uses it.[3][4]
  • 1730 – English incriminate is first recorded.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To accuse, charge with a crime.[2][3][5][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) To bring into disrepute, defame.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Incrimino.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/incrimino. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·