Faith & RitualGreek → English
Schism
/ˈsɪzəm/noun
A formal division within a church or other body, over doctrine or authority.
The Greek roots
σχίσμα
skhísma
a split, cleft
σχίζω
skhízō
to split, cleave
Literally: “a split”
The story of the word
John's gospel uses σχίσμα both for a crowd dividing over Jesus and for the tear the soldiers decide not to make in his tunic, so the word arrives in Christian use already carrying its physical sense. English borrowed it through Old French with a plain s sound, then scholars respelled it sch- to look Latin, and the two pronunciations have been fighting since. Eugen Bleuler built schizophrenia from the same verb in 1908, meaning a mind split within itself rather than a split personality.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Late Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 14th century
Same family
schizophreniaschistschizoid
In a sentence
The vote over the new liturgy produced a schism that has lasted two generations.