Where does “scam” come from?
Scamp derives from Middle Dutch schampen, from Old French escamper, from Italian scampare, ultimately from Latin ex-.
scam (English): A fraudulent deal; Something that is promoted...
Definitions
- A fraudulent deal; Something that is promoted...
Ancestry of “scam”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | scamp | A rascal, swindler, or rogue; a ne'er-do-well; A... |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | schampen | slip away |
| 3 | Old French | escamper | to run away, to make one's escape |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | excappare | present active infinitive of *excappō;... |
| 5 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |