English
crucify
Crucify comes from Old French crucefier ‘to crucify’, from Latin fīgō ‘to fasten, fix’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to plant’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-‘to plant’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feigʷō‘to fasten’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīvō‘Old Latin form of fīgō (“to fasten”)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīgō‘to fasten, fix’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrucifigō‘to crucify, fix on a cross’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcrucificō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400crucefier‘to crucify’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crucifien‘to crucify’
- Englishearliest quotation 1896crucify
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-‘to plant’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*feigʷō‘to fasten’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīvō‘Old Latin form of fīgō (“to fasten”)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīgō‘to fasten, fix’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrucifigō‘to crucify, fix on a cross’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcrucificō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400crucefier‘to crucify’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crucifien‘to crucify’
- Englishearliest quotation 1896crucify
Earliest quotation: 1896, William Jennings Bryan: “Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to plant’
final, fine, finish, definition, dig, infinite, ditch, infinity, finite, fin, dyke, dike, financier, infinitive, fino, finis, finial, 23 more
through Latin fīvō ‘Old Latin form of fīgō (“to fasten”)’
through Latin fīgō ‘to fasten, fix’
Today it means
verb To execute (a person) by nailing to a cross.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- / crucify