English
church
Church comes from Old English ċiriċe, an early borrowing of Ancient Greek κυριακόν, from κυριακός ‘belonging to the lord’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-‘to swell’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύριοςkúrios‘ruler’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEκυριακόςkuriakós‘belonging to the lord’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEκυριακόνkuriakónneuter form of κυριακός
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kirikāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ċiriċe
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chirche‘a church’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485church
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-‘to swell’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύριοςkúrios‘ruler’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEκυριακόςkuriakós‘belonging to the lord’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEκυριακόνkuriakónneuter form of κυριακός
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kirikāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ċiriċe
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chirche‘a church’
- Englishearliest quotation 1485church
Earliest quotation: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Tercium: “Thenne after this lady was delyuerd and chirched /…”
The story
For vowel evolution, see bury. Ancient Greek κυριακόν (kuriakón) was used of houses of Christian worship since circa 300 CE, especially in the East, though it was less common in this sense than ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía, “congregation”) or βασιλική (basilikḗ, “royal thing”). An example of the direct Greek-to-Germanic progress of many Christian words, possibly via the Goths; it was probably used by West Germanic people in their pre-Christian period. Also picked up by Slavic, via Old High German chirihha (compare Old Church Slavonic црькꙑ (crĭky), Bulgarian църква (cărkva), Russian це́рковь (cérkovʹ)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell, spread out, be strong, prevail’
jail, cave, cage, cavity, excavation, hound, cyst, gaol, excavate, cumulus, cajole, caul, cavil, 41 more
through Old English ċiriċe
Today it means
noun A Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- / church