English
heresiarch
Heresiarch comes from Ecclesiastical Latin haeresiarcha ‘heresiarch, leader of a heretical sect’, from Ancient Greek αἱρέω ‘to take, grasp, seize’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ser-‘to take, grasp, plunder’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*həřřéyōreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἱρέω‘to take, grasp, seize’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEαἵρεσῐςhaíresĭs‘heresy’
- Byzantine Greekc. 600–1453αἱρεσιάρχηςhairesiárkhēs‘leader of a sect’
- Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500haeresiarcha‘heresiarch, leader of a heretical sect’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenthérésiarque
- Englishearliest quotation 1838heresiarch
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ser-‘to take, grasp, plunder’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*həřřéyōreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἱρέω‘to take, grasp, seize’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEαἵρεσῐςhaíresĭs‘heresy’
- Byzantine Greekc. 600–1453αἱρεσιάρχηςhairesiárkhēs‘leader of a sect’
- Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500haeresiarcha‘heresiarch, leader of a heretical sect’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenthérésiarque
- Englishearliest quotation 1838heresiarch
Earliest quotation: 1838, James Henthorn Todd, Note D.—See Lecture I. p. 34. The Fratricelli, and Beguins.: “He died in 1223, and seems to have had…”
Formed from heresy + -arch
Ancient Greek αἵρεσις ‘choice, system of principles’
Latin haeresis
Old French heresie
Middle English heresie
English heresy
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ser- ‘to take, grasp, plunder’
service, series, sort, serve, conservative, stream, hero, desert, insert, assertion, reservoir, sermon, conservatism, exert, assertive, concierge, observant, servitude, sorcery, sorcerer, conservator, sark, strudel, servile, serf, sere, 34 more
through Ancient Greek αἱρέω ‘to take, grasp, seize’
Today it means
noun The founder of a heresy, or a major ecclesiastical proponent of such a heresy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ser- / heresiarch