*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of blame

From Middle English blame, borrowed from Old French blame, blasme, produced from the verb blasmer, which in turn is derived from Late Latin blastēmāre, variant of blasphēmāre, from Ancient Greek βλασφημέω (blasphēméō). D

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Censure. · Culpability for something negative or undesirable. · Responsibility for something meriting censure. · A source control feature that can show which user was responsible for a particular portion of the source code.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English blame, borrowed from Old French blame, blasme, produced from the verb blasmer, which in turn is derived from Late Latin blastēmāre, variant of blasphēmāre, from Ancient Greek βλασφημέω (blasphēméō). Doublet of blaspheme. Displaced native Old English tǣling (“blame”) and tǣlan (“to blame”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "blame"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English blame"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "blame"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French blame"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "blastemo",
        "4": "blastēmāre"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin blastēmāre"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "βλασφημέω"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek βλασφημέω (blasphēméō)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "blaspheme"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of blaspheme"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "tǣling",
        "3": "",
        "4": "blame"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English tǣling (“blame”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "blame",
      "blame#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "blame",
      "blame#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "blasme",
      "blasme#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "blasmer",
      "blasmer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "blastēmāre",
      "blastemo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "blasphēmāre",
      "blasphemo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "βλασφημέω",
      "βλασφημέω#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "blaspheme",
      "blaspheme#English"
    ],
    [
      "tǣling",
      "tæling#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "tǣlan",
      "tælan#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Censure.",
        "Culpability for something negative or undesirable.",
        "Responsibility for something meriting censure.",
        "A source control feature that can show which user was responsible for a particular portion of the source code."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adj

euphemism of damn (intensifier)

verb

To assert or consider that someone is the cause of something negative; to place blame; to attribute responsibility (for something negative or for doing something negative). · To assert the cause of some bad event. · To censure (someone or something); to criticize. · To bring into disrepute.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English blamen, borrowed from Old French blasmer, from Late Latin blasphēmāre (“to reproach, to revile”), from Ancient Greek βλασφημέω (blasphēméō). Compare blaspheme, a doublet. Overtook common use from the native wite (“to blame, accuse, reproach, suspect”) (from Middle English wīten, from Old English wītan).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "blamen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English blamen"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "blasmer"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French blasmer"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "blasphēmo",
        "4": "blasphēmāre",
        "t": "to reproach, to revile"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin blasphēmāre (“to reproach, to revile”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "βλασφημέω"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek βλασφημέω (blasphēméō)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "blaspheme",
        "notext": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "blaspheme"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "blamen",
      "blamen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "blasmer",
      "blasmer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "blasphēmāre",
      "blasphemo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "βλασφημέω",
      "βλασφημέω#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "blaspheme",
      "blaspheme#English"
    ],
    [
      "wite",
      "wite#English"
    ],
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      "wīten",
      "witen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wītan",
      "witan#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "euphemism of damn (intensifier)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
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    },
    {
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      "glosses": [
        "To assert or consider that someone is the cause of something negative; to place blame; to attribute responsibility (for something negative or for doing something negative).",
        "To assert the cause of some bad event.",
        "To censure (someone or something); to criticize.",
        "To bring into disrepute."
      ],
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      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for blame →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YmxhbWU