Where does “scare” come from?
Scare comes from Middle English sker, from Old Norse sker, from Proto-Germanic skarją, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sek-, meaning to cut or separate.
scare (English): A minor fright; A cause of slight terror;...
Definitions
- A minor fright; A cause of slight terror;...
Ancestry of “scare”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sker | Terror, fright |
| 2 | Middle English | skerren | to frighten |
| 3 | Old Norse | skirra | frighten; to frighten; to shrink away from, shun;... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | skirzijaną | to shoo, scare off |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ḱer- | dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth |