Past tense of blame; held responsible for a fault or wrong, or attributed a bad outcome to someone or something. Assigned culpability or criticism to a person or cause.
From Old French 'blasmer' meaning 'to censure,' ultimately from Greek 'blasphemein' (to speak evil of). The word evolved from religious contexts of blasphemy to general attribution of fault by the 14th century.
The connection between 'blame' and 'blasphemy' reveals how assigning fault was originally seen as a form of speaking against someone's character or divine favor. This linguistic link shows that blame carries moral weight beyond simple causation - it implies a judgment about wrongdoing.
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