blame English · revision 4067

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=grc βλασφημεῖν}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bleɪm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|blamen]],^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|blasmer|t=to rebuke, reprimand, condemn]], later blamer (modern French blâmer),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-vul|*blastēmāre]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) an alteration of Late Latin [[m|la-lat|blasphēmāre|t=to blaspheme; to revile, reproach]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[grc|βλασφημεῖν|tr=blasphēmeîn|t=to speak ill of, blaspheme]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Cresswell 2021) According to the OED the word entered Latin through the New Testament.^(Barnhart 1988) The noun is from Old French blasme, a back-formation from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It replaced Old English wītan.^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of [[blaspheme]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “To find fault with”, the opposite of praise: probably before 1200 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline and the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To lay responsibility on for something wrong” is from about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The noun first meant an expression of disapproval, a rebuke, in the early 13th century,^(Etymonline) and responsibility for something wrong from the mid-14th century,^(Etymonline) with ''to lay the blame on'' from 1393 in the OED.^(OED 1989) ''To be to blame'' is old, and in the 16th and 17th centuries it was sometimes taken as an adjective, “too blame”.^(OED 1989) As a mild oath, ''blame it!'' and ''blamed if I know'', it is from 1830,^(OED 1989) in general dialect and American use.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – to find fault with.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * early 13th century – noun, a rebuke.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – to hold responsible.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – responsibility.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1830 – as a mild oath.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To hold responsible: ''blamed him for the delay''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To find fault with; to [[censure]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To place responsibility for something: ''blamed the accident on the weather''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Responsibility for a fault or error; culpability.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Censure; [[condemnation]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[blamer]]

+ * [[blameless]]

+ * [[blamelessly]]

+ * [[blamelessness]]

+ * [[blameful]]

+ * [[blameworthy]]

+ * [[blamable]]

+ * [[blameable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[blaspheme]]

+ * [[blasphemy]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage distinguishes blame, which stresses censure or punishment for a lapse one is held accountable for, from fault, guilt and criticize.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}