psalm (English)

Where does "psalm" come from?

The word 'psalm' descends from the Ancient Greek 'psalmós,' which originally referred to the plucking of musical strings with the fingers. Through Latin and Old French, the term traveled into Old and Middle English, gradually shifting from its specific instrumental definition to represent a sacred song or hymn. By the Byzantine period, the word had lost its original association with musical instruments entirely, settling into its modern religious usage.

Full etymology tree

• psalm (English), 'A sacred song; a poetical composition for use in the praise or worship of God.'
  • inherited salm (Middle English), 'A psalm (hymn in the Book of Psalms)'
    • inherited psealm (Old English), 'psalm'
      • inherited psalmus (Latin), 'psalm'
        • learned borrowing ψαλμός (psalmós) (Ancient Greek), 'twitching or twanging with the fingers'
          • derived ψάλλω (psállō) (Ancient Greek), 'to touch sharply, pluck, pull, twitch, twang'
          • suffix -μός (-mós) (Ancient Greek), 'Forms abstract nouns.'
  • inherited psalme (Middle English), 'alternative form of salm'
    • inherited psalme (Old French)
      • inherited psalmus (Latin), 'psalm'
        • learned borrowing ψαλμός (psalmós) (Ancient Greek), 'twitching or twanging with the fingers'
          • derived ψάλλω (psállō) (Ancient Greek), 'to touch sharply, pluck, pull, twitch, twang'
          • suffix -μός (-mós) (Ancient Greek), 'Forms abstract nouns.'

Direct ancestors

• salm (Middle English)
• psealm (Old English)
• psalmus (Latin)
• ψαλμός (Ancient Greek)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris