English
heresy
Heresy comes from Old French heresie, and goes back to Ancient Greek αἵρεσις ‘choice, system of principles’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἵρεσιςhaíresis‘choice, system of principles’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhaeresis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400heresie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heresie
- Englishearliest quotation 1968heresy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαἵρεσιςhaíresis‘choice, system of principles’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhaeresis
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400heresie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heresie
- Englishearliest quotation 1968heresy
Earliest quotation: 1968, History of Western Civilization, Baldwin & Cole: “Heresy meant deliberate departure from the accepted doctrines of…”
Formed from heresie + -esy
The story
From Middle English heresie (Middle English her(esie) + -esy), from Old French heresie (modern hérésie), from Latin haeresis, from Ancient Greek αἵρεσις (haíresis, “choice, system of principles”), from αἱρέομαι (hairéomai, “to take for oneself, to choose”), the middle voice of αἱρέω (hairéō, “to take”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ser-; see also Welsh herw (‘theft, raid’), Ancient Greek στερέω (steréō, “to deprive of”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ser- ‘to flow’
service, sort, series, serve, conservative, stream, hero, desert, insert, assertion, sermon, reservoir, conservatism, exert, assertive, concierge, sorcery, observant, servitude, sorcerer, sark, conservator, heretic, strudel, servile, serf, sere, 34 more
Today it means
noun A doctrine held by a member of a religion at variance or conflict with established religious beliefs.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek αἵρεσις / heresy