Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "confess" come from? It comes from Latin confiteri, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "confess" come from? It comes from Latin confiteri, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
Confess’s story begins in Latin: confiteri meant “to acknowledge.” 'com-' plus 'fateri', to admit. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as confesser. Used for religious confession. It reached English by 1300s as confess. Augustine's 'Confessions' (c. 400) made it a word for spiritual memoirs. Today, confess means to admit a fault.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient confiteri "to acknowledge", 'com-' plus 'fateri', to admit.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval confesser "to confess", used for religious confession.
- Stage 3 · English · 1300s confess "to admit sins", Augustine's 'Confessions' (c. 400) made it a word for spiritual memoirs.