dogma

Ancient Greek

AI-inferred

dokein (δοκεῖν)

to seem good, think

Ancient Greek

Verified

dogma (δόγμα)

opinion, tenet; literally “that which one thinks is true”

from Late Latin dogmaticus

+1 more source

Late Latin

Verified

dogmaticus

pertaining to doctrine; learned borrowing from Greek

from Late Latin dogmaticus

Middle French

Verified

dogmatique

of doctrine; source of the English adjective

from Middle French dogmatique and its etymon, Late Latin dogmaticus

English

Verified

dogmatic

first “positive without evidence,” later “of dogma”

from Late Latin dogmaticus

Modern English

dogmatic

Word Ancestry

dogma

Ancient Greek

AI-inferred

dokein (δοκεῖν)

to seem good, think

Ancient Greek

Verified

dogma (δόγμα)

opinion, tenet; literally “that which one thinks is true”

from Late Latin dogmaticus

+1 more source

Late Latin

Verified

dogmaticus

pertaining to doctrine; learned borrowing from Greek

from Late Latin dogmaticus

Middle French

Verified

dogmatique

of doctrine; source of the English adjective

from Middle French dogmatique and its etymon, Late Latin dogmaticus

English

Verified

dogmatic

first “positive without evidence,” later “of dogma”

from Late Latin dogmaticus

Modern English

dogmatic

“

This one starts in a very Greek way: dokein, “to seem good, think,” which gave Greek dogma, basically a belief someone has decided feels true. By the time Late Latin dogmaticus and Middle French dogmatique got hold of it, the word had become the label for doctrine with a capital D — the kind of thing a church council or schoolman would lay down on a table like a heavy brass rule. Then English picked it up in the 1680s, and the sting sharpened: not just “doctrinal,” but “so sure of itself it won’t bother with evidence.” That’s why dogmatic sits so nicely beside dogma, dogmatist, and dogmatism, while also making a perfect foil for liberal, empiric, or skeptical. It’s a word that still smells faintly of lecture halls, sermons, and people talking as if disagreement were a clerical error.

The Story

“

This one starts in a very Greek way: dokein, “to seem good, think,” which gave Greek dogma, basically a belief someone has decided feels true. By the time Late Latin dogmaticus and Middle French dogmatique got hold of it, the word had become the label for doctrine with a capital D — the kind of thing a church council or schoolman would lay down on a table like a heavy brass rule. Then English picked it up in the 1680s, and the sting sharpened: not just “doctrinal,” but “so sure of itself it won’t bother with evidence.” That’s why dogmatic sits so nicely beside dogma, dogmatist, and dogmatism, while also making a perfect foil for liberal, empiric, or skeptical. It’s a word that still smells faintly of lecture halls, sermons, and people talking as if disagreement were a clerical error.