Where does “scaremongery” come from?
scaremongery (English) comes from English scaremonger, from English scare, from Middle English sker, from Middle English skerren, from Old Norse skirra, from Proto-Germanic skirzijaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ḱer- — dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth.
scaremongery (English): The act of spreading alarming information that is either exaggerated or untrue in order to scare others
Definitions
- The act of spreading alarming information that is either exaggerated or untrue in order to scare others
Ancestry of “scaremongery”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | scaremonger | Someone who spreads worrying rumours or... |
| 2 | English | scare | A minor fright; A cause of slight terror;... |
| 3 | Middle English | sker | Terror, fright |
| 4 | Middle English | skerren | to frighten |
| 5 | Old Norse | skirra | frighten; to frighten; to shrink away from, shun;... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | skirzijaną | to shoo, scare off |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ḱer- | dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth |