English Words/Phrases from Early Translations | 91Ӱ�� Christian University

Words or Phrases First Introduced Into the English Language in Early English Bible Translations [1]

The first recorded use of many of the words used in ordinary English today can be found in the early translations of the Bible into English. When John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate in the fourteenth century, he enlarged the English language by adapting many Latin words into his English Bible. The words treasure and mystery, glory and horror, female and sex all owe their English usage to Wycliffe’s Bible. Tyndale, translating from the Hebrew and Greek in the 16th century, did not borrow as much from the Latin as did Wycliffe. He did coin words from the Dutch and Germanic sources (after all, he did his translation work while in those two countries) as well as French. Beautiful and ungodly were such words. Many of Tyndale’s coined words were compound words, such as fisherman,castaway, and busybody. Both of Wycliffe’s and Tyndale’s translations included phrases which readily entered the language with their Bible translations – phrases like a city on a hill, my brother’s keeper, ye of little faith, salt of the earth, and thirty pieces of silver. Below is a chart of words and phrases coined by the early English translators of the Bible.

Wycliffe’s translation from the Vulgate (1382/88)

Word

Bible Passage

Derivation

female

Genesis 1:27

Jerome’s Vulgate used Latin femina. Wycliffe’s female was based on the related Latin word, femella. The English word male had first appeared 7 years earlier.

sex

Genesis 6:19

Jerome’s Latin uses sexus here. Later translations replace “sex” with “kind”.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Genesis 13:10

childbearing

Genesis 25:24

Compounded of the Old English noun cild (“child”) and the verb beran(“to carry or bear”). KJV later uses the word in I Timothy 2:15.

wrinkle

Genesis 38:14

Wycliffe describes Tamar as wearing “a rocket cloth with many wrynclis”. It probably comes from wrinclod, past participle of the verbwrinclian, meaning “to wind about.” This verb is also source of our verb “to wring”. Tyndale later used the word in Ephesians 5:27, “without spot or wrinkle.”

affliction

Exodus 3:7

Derived from the Latin prefix ad (“to”) and the root figere (“to strike or beat against”)

graven image

Exodus 20:4

Wycliffe’s spelling: grauuen ymage

needlework

Exodus 26:1

Coined by Wycliffe. KJV later uses “cunning work.” Other translations used the French derivative broidery.

consume

Leviticus 16:23

The Latin root sumere derives from emere “to buy”, which is also the root of redeem.

first fruits

Numbers 18:12

Coined by Wycliffe. The Latin Vulgate equivalent, primitiae was used in Exodus 23:16.

cast

Numbers 35:17

grasp

Deuteronomy 28:29

Related to the Old Norse grapa (from which come “grab”, “grip”, “gripe”.)

horror

Deuteronomy 32:10;
Ezekiel 32:10

From Latin Vulgate’s in loco horroris. The Latin verb horrere means “to bristle or shudder” and was associated with a forbidding terrain.

shibboleth

Judges 12:6

problem

Judges 14:15

From Jerome’s problema. This had been translated into the Latin from Greek, the prefix pro (“forward”) and the root verb ballein (“to throw”).

affinity

Ruth 3:13

From the Latin affinis, a combination of ad (“to”) and finis (“border” or “limit”).

mutter

II Samuel 12:19

From the Middle English moteren. Later English translations use “whispering”.

seer

I Samuel 9:9

Old English seon (“to see”). Luther used the related Germanic Seher.

zealous

I Kings 19:3

From Latin noun zelus and Greek zelos, meaning “ardent feeling.”

botch

II Chronicles 34:1;
Isaiah 30:6;
Deuteronomy 28:27.

To repair or patch. From Old French boce (“lump”, “boil”, “swelling.”)

scrape

Job 2:8

From Old English screpan, sharing the Indo-European root sker, from which come sharo, shear, and scorpion.

wordy

Job 16:21

contradiction

Psalms 54:10

From Old French; a combination of Latin contra (“against”) anddiccere (“to speak”)

glory

Proverbs 17:6;
Luke 2:14;
Romans 1:23;
I Corinthians 10:31.

From Latin Vulgate (gloria) and the French (glorie).

bundle

Song of Solomon 1:12

Probably from the Middle Dutch binden, meaning “to bind.”

treasure

Isaiah 39:6

From Latin thesaurus in Jerome’s Vulgate.

childbearing

Isaiah 49:21

From Old English cild (“child”) and beran (“to carry or to bear”).

feel

Isaiah 59:10

From Old English felan, meaning “to grope”.

doubtful

Ezekiel 12:24

Adjective from Old French verb douter.

irrevocable

Ezekiel 21:5

From Jerome’s Latin irrecovabilis.

ministry

Ezekiel 44:13;
Colossians 4:17.

From Vulgate use of word for “office,” ministerium

liquid

Ezekiel 44:30

From Latin liquere.

transfer

Ezekiel 48:14

From Jerome’s Vulgate, transferre.

mystery

Daniel 2:27;
Romans 16:25.

From Jerome’s Vulgate, mysterium.

Interpretation, interpret

Daniel 5:14;
Daniel 5:16

From the Latin Vulgate.

reap the whirlwind

Hosea 8:7

puberty

Malachi 2:14

From Latin Vulgate, pubertas.

salt of the earth

Matthew 5:13

city set on a hill

Matthew 5:14

ye of little faith

Matthew 8:26

doctrine

Matthew 15:9

From Jerome’s Vulgate.

keys of the kingdom

Matthew 16:19

born again

John 3:3

argument

Acts 1:13

ecstasy

Acts 3:10

From Jerome’s Vulgate.

exorcist

Acts 19:13

From the Greek exorkizein.

civility

Acts 22:28

Based on the Latin Vulgate, civitatem.

crime

Acts 23:29; 25:16

From Jerome’s Vulgate, crimen.

adoption

Romans 8:23

From Jerome’s Vulgate, adotptionem.

conscience

I Corinthians 8:7;
II Cor. 5:11;
I Peter 2:19

From Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.

all things to all men

I Corinthians 9:22

excellent

I Corinthians 12:31

From Latin Vulgate’s excellentiorum.

ambitious

I Corinthians 13:5

From Latin Vulgate’s ambitiosa.

liberty

II Corinthians 3:17

From Latin Vulgate’s libertas.

legacy

II Corinthians 5:20

From Latin Vulgate.

communication

II Corinthians 9:13

From Latin Vulgate, communicationis.

allegory

Galatians 4:24

From Latin Vulgate’s allegoriam, Jerome’s transliteration of the original Greek allegoria.

persuasion

Galatians 5:8

From Latin.

offense; offend

Philippians 1:10;
James 3:2

From the Latin Vulgate.

quiet

I Thessalonians

From Latin.

root of all evil

I Timothy 6:10

uncertainty

I Timothy 6:17

From Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.

novelty

I Timothy 6:20

From Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.

quick and the dead

I Peter 4:5

plague

Revelation 9:18

Tyndale’s translation from the Hebrew and Greek (1525-26 & 1530/34)

Word

Bible Passage

Derivation

brother’s keeper

Genesis 4:9

land of Nod

Genesis 4:16

pillar of salt

Genesis 19:26

full of days

Genesis 35:29

coat of many colors

Genesis 37:3

nurse

Exodus 2:9

stranger in a strange land

Exodus 2:22

Jehovah

Exodus 6:3

Hebrew sacred and unpronounceable divine name, YHWH, combined with the vowels for the word “Adonai,” a less sacred name for God.

Passover

Exodus 12:11

His own translation of the Hebrew pesach.

sin of the fathers

Exodus 20:5

eye for eye

Exodus 21:24

scapegoat

Leviticus 16:8

A combination of escape and goat.

eat, drink, and be merry

Ecclesiastes 8:15

viper

Matthew 3:7
Acts 28:3

From Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.

no man can serve two masters

Matthew 6:24

judge not

Matthew 7:1

blind lead the blind

Matthew 15:14

seventy times seven

Matthew 18:22

beautiful

Matthew 23:27

From the Latin bellus, “pretty” or “lovely” and the Old French Beltat,

housetop

Matthew 24:17

Literal translation of the Greek doma.

thirty pieces of silver

Matthew 26:14

brokenhearted

Luke 4:18

Combination of Anglo-Saxon breccan (“to break”) and heorte.

fisherman

Luke 5:2

Wycliffe translated the Latin piscatores, “fishers”; Tyndale developed the compound “fishermen.”

cast the first stone

John 8:7

stiff-necked

Acts 7:51

sorcerer

Acts 13:6

From the Latin root sors (“Lot,” “share,” “sort,” as connected with fate and chance.

uproar

Acts 21:38

English variant of Dutch oproer and German Aufruhr.

undergird

Acts 27:17

ungodly

Romans 5:6

From Middle Dutch ondoelijc.

castaway

I Corinthians 9:27;
II Corinthians 13:5

suffer fools gladly

II Corinthians 11:19

infidel

I Timothy 5:8

From Latin infidelis.

two-edged sword

Hebrews 4:12

seashore

Hebrews 11:12

busybody

I Peter 4:15

Compound of Old English bisig and bodig.

alpha and omega

Revelation 1:19

First and last letters of Greek alphabet.

rose-colored

Revelation 17:3

Coverdale’s translation (1535)

Word

Bible Passage

Derivation

Zealous

I Kings 19:10

From Latin zelus and Greek zelos.

bloodthirsty

Psalms 25:9

daytime

Psalms 22:2

Blab

Proverbs 15:2

Old Norse blabbra and Old Dutch labben.

slaughter

Isaiah 22:13

From Old Norse slatr and Old English sleaht related to slay.

sprinkler

Jeremiah 52:18

Old English/Germanic

consumer

Malachi 3:2

From Latin.

blood money

Matthew 27:6

voiceless

Acts 8:32

Geneva Bible (1560)

Word

Bible Passage

Derivation

burnt offering

Genesis 8:20; 22:2.

network

Exodus 27:4

my cup runneth over

Psalms 23:5

stargazer

Isaiah 47:13

holier than thou

Isaiah 65:5

Ancient of Days

Daniel 7:9

house divided

Matthew 12:25

Get thee behind me, Satan

Matthew 16:23

through a glass darkly

I Corinthians 13:12

King James’ Bible (1611)

Word

Bible Passage

Derivation

Not live by bread alone

Matthew 4:4

[1] Based upon Stanley Malless and Jeffrey McQuain’s Coined by God. London and New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2003.