liturgi (Indonesian)

Where does "liturgi" come from?

The Indonesian word 'liturgi' originates from the Ancient Greek 'leitourgia,' meaning 'work in public' or 'public service.' This term evolved from the combination of words meaning 'people' and 'work,' eventually shifting in meaning through Latin and Dutch to describe a prescribed set of religious rituals. Today, the word retains its historical roots by referring to the official worship services and structured rites within a church.

Full etymology tree

• liturgi (Indonesian), 'liturgy:'
  • borrowed liturgie (Dutch), 'a liturgy, predetermined or prescribed set of (religious) rituals and associated customs, attributes etc.'
    • inherited līturgia (Latin), 'liturgy'
      • borrowed λειτουργία (leitourgía) (Ancient Greek), 'public service'
        • compound λειτουργός (leitourgós) (Ancient Greek), 'public servant'
          • compound λήϊτον (lḗïton) (Ancient Greek), 'town-hall, council-room'
            • derived λᾱός (lāós) (Ancient Greek)
              • inherited *leh₂wos (Proto-Indo-European)
          • compound -ουργός (-ourgós) (Ancient Greek), 'creates compound nouns or adjectives with the meaning of -worker, -maker, -wright'
            • derived ἔργον (érgon) (Ancient Greek), 'work, labour, task'
              • inherited *wérǵom (Proto-Indo-European), 'work'
        • suffix -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) (Ancient Greek), 'Primitive suffix added to the stems of adjectives in -ύς (-ús) and some nouns to form feminine gender'
          • inherited *-i-eh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

• liturgie (Dutch)
• liturgia (Latin)
• λειτουργία (Ancient Greek)

Updated June 2026

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