'Decalogue' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'dekalogos', where 'deka-' meant 'ten' and 'logos' meant 'word' or 'speech'.

'Decalogue' passed into Late Latin as 'Decalogus' and then into Middle English/early modern English from Greek/Latin usage, becoming the modern English word 'Decalogue'.

Initially it referred specifically to the Biblical Ten Commandments; over time it came to be used more broadly for any set of ten rules or, by extension, a concise set of guiding principles.