English
impiety
Impiety comes from Latin impietas ‘irreverence, ungodliness, impiety’, from pietas ‘piety’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- ‘to be clean, pure’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewH-‘to be clean, pure’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*puHyós‘purifying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pīos‘pious, devout’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpius‘pious, devout’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpietas‘piety’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpietas‘irreverence, ungodliness, impiety’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400impieté
- Englishearliest quotation 1661impiety
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pewH-‘to be clean, pure’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*puHyós‘purifying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pīos‘pious, devout’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpius‘pious, devout’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpietas‘piety’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpietas‘irreverence, ungodliness, impiety’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400impieté
- Englishearliest quotation 1661impiety
Earliest quotation: 1661, Joseph Glanvill, London: […] E. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […]: “[I]f the world and motion were not from Eternity,…”
Equivalent to impious + -ety
Proto-Indo-European *pewH- ‘to be clean, pure’
Proto-Italic *pīos ‘pious, devout’
Latin pius ‘pious, devout’
Latin impius ‘godless, impious, unpatriotic’
English impious
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pewH- ‘to be clean, pure’
pure, reputation, deputy, pour, purity, purification, purify, putative, purist, purée, puro, 16 more
through Proto-Italic *pīos ‘pious, devout’
through Latin pius ‘pious, devout’
through Latin pietas ‘piety’
Today it means
noun The state of being impious.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pewH- / impiety