blame

the word "blame" entered english in the 12th century from old french blasmer, meaning "to rebuke, reprimand, condemn." the old french term itself derived from late latin blasphemare, which meant "to reproach, revile, and also to blaspheme." this latin verb was a variant of ecclesiastical latin blasphemare, borrowed from greek blasphēmein, meaning "to speak profanely, slander." the greek roots are blapsis ("harm") and phēmē ("speech"). the semantic journey thus moved from the broad concept of "harmful speech" or "slander" in ancient languages to the more specific modern sense of assigning responsibility for a fault or misdeed, losing its explicitly religious connotation in the process.

the word "blame" is a simplex word of french origin. it does not contain separable morphemes in modern english.