It is one of the fundamental laws of etymology that in tracing words back to their roots, we have to show that their primary, not their secondary meanings agree with the meaning of the root. Therefore, even if _crīmen_ had assumed in later times the meaning of judgment, yet its derivation from the Greek κρίνειν would have to be rejected, because it would explain the secondary only, but not the primary meaning of _crīmen_. Nothing is clearer than the historical development of the meanings of _crīmen_, beginning with accusation, and ending with guilt. I believe I have proved that _crīmen_ is really and truly the same word as the German _Verleumdung_, calumny.[6] _Verleumdung_ comes from _Leumund_, the Old High-German _hliumunt_, and this _hliumunt_ is the exact representative of the Vedic +śromata+, derived from the root +śru+, to hear, _cluere_, and signifying good report, glory, the Greek κλέος, the Old High-German _hruom_. The German word _Leumund_ can be used in a good and a bad sense, as good or evil report, while the Latin _crī-men_, for _croe-men_ (like _liber_ for _loeber_), is used only _in malam partem_. It meant originally what is heard, report, _on dit_, gossip, accusation; lastly, the object of an accusation, a crime, but never judgment, in the technical sense of the word. The only important objection that could be raised against tracing _crīmen_ back to the root +śru+, is that this root has in the Northwestern branch of the Aryan family assumed the form +clu+, instead of +cru+, as in κλέος, _cliens_, _gloria_, O.Sl. _slovo_, A.S. _hlûd_, loud, _inclutus_. I myself hesitated for a long time on account of this phonetic difficulty, nor do I think it is quite removed by the fact that Bopp (“Comp. Gr.” § 20) identified the German _scrir-u-mês_, we cry (instead of _scriw-u-mês_), with Sk. +śrâv-ayâ-mas+, we make hear; nor by the _r_ in _in-cre-p-are_, in κράζω, as compared with κλάζω, nor even by the _r_ in ἀ-κρο-ά-ομαι, which Curtius seems inclined to derive from +śru+. The question is whether this phonetic difficulty is such as to force us to surrender the common origin of +śromata+, _hliumunt_, and _crīmen_; but even if this should be the case, the derivation of _crīmen_ from _cerno_ or κρίνειν would remain as impossible as ever.