Where does “fourscore” come from?
Fourscore derives from English four and Old Norse skor, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kʷetwṓr meaning four.
fourscore (English): Eighty; A full-length life, reckoned as eighty...
Definitions
- Eighty; A full-length life, reckoned as eighty...
Ancestry of “fourscore”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | score | The total number of goals, points, runs, etc.... |
| 2 | Middle English | score | — |
| 3 | Old English | scoru | notch; tally; score |
| 4 | Old Norse | skór | shoe |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skōhaz | shoe |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | skewk- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kew- | to caw, to howl; to cover, hide; to cover, hide,... |