English

sacrilege

Sacrilege comes from Latin sacrilegium ‘the robbing of a temple, stealing of sacred…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k-.

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂k-‘to make sacred’reconstructed
Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sh₂krósreconstructed
Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sakros‘sacred’reconstructed
Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEsakros
Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEsacros
Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCE*sakr̥sreconstructed
Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCE*sakerrreconstructed
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsacer‘holy, sacred’
Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsacrilegus‘sacrilegious’
Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsacrilegium‘the robbing of a temple, stealing of sacred objects, sacrilege’
Old Frenchc. 842–1400sacrilege
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
Englishearliest quotation 1951same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂k-‘to make sacred’reconstructed
Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sh₂krósreconstructed
Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sakros‘sacred’reconstructed
Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEsakros
Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEsacros
Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCE*sakr̥sreconstructed
Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCE*sakerrreconstructed
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsacer‘holy, sacred’
Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsacrilegus‘sacrilegious’
Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsacrilegium‘the robbing of a temple, stealing of sacred objects, sacrilege’
Old Frenchc. 842–1400sacrilege
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
Englishearliest quotation 1951same form

Earliest quotation: 1951, R. S. McNaught, Lines of Approach: “I recall the height of comfort attained by the…”

noun Desecration, profanation, misuse or violation of something regarded as sacred.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.