Where does “score off” come from?
score off (English) comes from English score, from Middle English score, from Old English scoru, from Old Norse skór, from Proto-Germanic skōhaz, from Proto-Indo-European skewk-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kew- — to caw, to howl; to cover, hide; to cover, hide,...
score off (English): To defeat (in an argument), get the better of, achieve a success over, gain an advantage or win points over, make a point to the detriment or at the expense of, make appear foolish
Definitions
- To defeat (in an argument), get the better of, achieve a success over, gain an advantage or win points over, make a point to the detriment or at the expense of, make appear foolish
Ancestry of “score off”, step by step
score off traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English score
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | score | The total number of goals, points, runs, etc.... |
| 2 | Middle English | score | 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,... |