criminology

Where does the word "criminology" come from? It comes from Latin crimen, and was adopted directly into English (1890).

Criminology’s story begins in Latin: crimen meant “a crime, an accusation.” The root of 'crime', 'criminal' and 'incriminate'. It reached English by 1890 as criminology. Coined by combining Latin crimen with Greek logos for the scientific study of crime. Today, criminology means the scientific study of crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient crimen "a crime, an accusation", the root of 'crime', 'criminal' and 'incriminate'.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1890 criminology "the scientific study of crime", coined by combining Latin crimen with Greek logos for the scientific study of crime.