- sanctimonious (adj.)
- c.1600 (in "Measure for Measure," with the disparaging sense), from sanctimony "holiness of life and character" (1530s), from Middle French sanctimonie, from Latin sanctimonia "holiness, virtuousness," from sanctus "holy" (see saint). The un-ironic, literal sense was used occasionally in English from c.1600 to c.1800. Related: Sanctimoniously.