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sacrilegus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word sacrilegus

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (sacer,legō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [saˈkrɪ.ɫɛ.ɡʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [saˈkriː.le.ɡus][1]

Forms

sacrilegus (feminine sacrilega, neuter sacrilegum, adverb sacrilegē); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from sacer “sacred” and legō “to gather, steal”, from the phrase ⟨sacra legere⟩ “to steal sacred things”.[2][1][3] An inscription has ⟨sacrilogos⟩.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of an impious person.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant robbing temples or sacred property, and as a noun a temple robber, as in Cicero and Propertius.[2][5] From Plautus it meant guilty of any impious act, and of actions impious, sacrilegious, as Livy's sacrilegās manūs and Ovid's.[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant sacrilegious, and as a noun a violator of a church or temple.[7] Medieval Latin also used it for idolatrous, superstitious.[8] Its noun sacrilegium gave English sacrilege about 1300, through Old French.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of an impious person.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of temple robbery.[2][5][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy has sacrilegās manūs.[6][4]
  • c. 1300 – English sacrilege is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Robbing temples; as a noun, a temple robber.[2]
  2. Impious, sacrilegious; as a noun, an impious person.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Idolatrous.[8]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Sacrilegus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/sacrilegus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·