Etymology

censor

cens·or
C3E1N1S1O1R1

Today it means: One of the two magistrates who originally administered the census of citizens, and by Classical times (between the 8th century B.C.E. and the 6th century C.E.) was a high judge of public behaviour and morality. Full definition →

Latin cēnsor ← Proto-Indo-European *ḱens-
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censor · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱens-“to announce, proclaim; to put in order”
  2. Latin · borrowed fromcēnsor“magistrate; critic”
  3. English todaycensor

The noun is borrowed from Latin cēnsor (“magistrate; critic”), from cēnseō (“to give an opinion, judge; to assess, reckon; to decree, determine”) + -sor (variant of -tor (suffix forming masculine agent nouns)). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- (“to announce, proclaim; to put in order”). The English word is cognate with Late Middle English sensour, Proto-Iranian *cánhati (“to declare; to explain”), Sanskrit शंसति (śaṃsati, “to declare”). The verb is derived from the noun.

censor · noun2

  1. German · derived fromZensur“censorship”
  2. English todaycensor

From an incorrect translation of German Zensur (“censorship”).

Words from the same roots

Latincēnsor all →

censor morum

Proto-Indo-European*ḱens- all →

cosmosherryherye

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.