Word journey
The word messiah
the anointed one; with its Greek translation, Christ
The journey
| Form | Language | Date | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| māšîaḥ | Biblical Hebrew · Judaism | 700 BCE | anointed (king or priest) |
| khristós | Koine Greek (Septuagint) · Judaism | 250 BCE | "anointed", a calque of mashiach |
| məšīḥā | Aramaic · Judaism | undated | the anointed one (form not dated in the sources used) |
| Messías | Koine Greek (Gospel of John) · Christianity | 95 CE | the Messiah (transliteration) |
| Messīās | Late Latin · Christianity | 400 CE | the Messiah |
| Chrīstus | Latin · Christianity | 400 CE | Christ, title of Jesus |
| Crīst | Old English · Christianity | 900 CE | Christ (spelled Christ from the 14th century) |
| Messiah | English · Christianity | 1665 CE | the Messiah (spelling remade from Hebrew; earlier Messias) |
| al-Masīḥ | Arabic · Islam | 632 CE | the Messiah, title of Jesus (Isa) |
What is certain and what is not
Christ is a translation, not a borrowing: Greek christos ("anointed") stands for mashiach. The Aramaic form behind Greek Messias is undated in the sources used, and the route of Arabic masih is not traced there.