church

Where does the word "church" come from? It comes from Greek kyriakon dōma, passing through West Germanic and Old English before entering English (1200s).

Church’s story begins in Greek: kyriakon dōma meant “the Lord's house.” 'of the Lord', from 'kyrios', lord. By ancient, the word had taken hold in West Germanic as kirika. Picked up by Germanic peoples along the Roman frontier, perhaps from Greek-speaking Christians. From there it passed into Old English as cirice by medieval. Scots kept the hard sound in 'kirk'. It reached English by 1200s as church. The 'k' sounds softened to 'ch' in southern English. Today, church means a building for Christian worship; a Christian organization.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient kyriakon dōma "the Lord's house", 'of the Lord', from 'kyrios', lord.
2. Stage 2 · West Germanic · ancient kirika "church", picked up by Germanic peoples along the Roman frontier, perhaps from Greek-speaking Christians.
3. Stage 3 · Old English · medieval cirice "church", Scots kept the hard sound in 'kirk'.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1200s church "a Christian place of worship", the 'k' sounds softened to 'ch' in southern English.