English
recriminate
Recriminate comes from Latin recrīminātus, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-‘to sift, separate, divide’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErecrīminātus
- Englishearliest quotation 1676recriminate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-‘to sift, separate, divide’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErecrīminātus
- Englishearliest quotation 1676recriminate
Earliest quotation: 1676, Edward Stillingfleet: “It is not my business to recriminate, hoping sufficiently…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’
certain, secretary, secret, crime, crisis, criminal, discretion, critic, discrimination, critique, riddle, discern, discreet, discrete, criterion, hypocrite, endocrine, discriminate, excrement, excretion, rime, ridder, certitude, excrete, criterium, incrimination, incriminate, 47 more
Today it means
verb To accuse in return, state an accusation in return, make a countercharge.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *krey- / recriminate