Etymograph

English

consecrate

Consecrate comes from Middle English consecraten ‘to dedicate, consecrate’, from Proto-Italic *sakrāō ‘to sanctify’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- ‘to make a pact, treaty’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂k-‘to make a pact, treaty’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sh₂krósreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sakros‘sacred’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*sakrāō‘to sanctify’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsacrō
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsecrō‘to consecrate or dedicate’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500consecraten‘to dedicate, consecrate’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1863consecrate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂k-‘to make a pact, treaty’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sh₂krósreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sakros‘sacred’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*sakrāō‘to sanctify’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsacrō
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnsecrō‘to consecrate or dedicate’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500consecraten‘to dedicate, consecrate’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1863consecrate

Earliest quotation: 1863, Abraham Lincoln, Bliss copy: “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we…”

The story

First attested in the late 14ᵗʰ century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English consecraten (‘to dedicate, consecrate (an altar, church); to ordain (a bishop), anoint (a king, a pope); to devote one to religious life’), from consecrat(e) (“consecrated”, used as the past participle of consecraten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin cōnsecrātus, perfect passive participle of cōnsecrāre, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- ‘to make a pact, treaty’

saint, santo, sanction, sanctity, sanctification, 12 more

through Proto-Italic *sakros ‘sacred’

sacrilege, 8 more

through Proto-Italic *sakrāō ‘to sanctify’

sacramental, 3 more

through Latin sacrō

sacrament, sacre, 4 more

Today it means

verb To declare something holy, or make it holy by some procedure.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- / consecrate

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