Where does “scornful” come from?
Scornful comes from Middle English scorn plus Old English -ful, from Proto-Germanic -fullaz and fullaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós and (s)ker- or sek-.
scornful (English): Showing scorn or disrespect; contemptuous
Definitions
- Showing scorn or disrespect; contemptuous
Ancestry of “scornful”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | scorn | To feel or display contempt or disdain for... |
| 2 | English | scarn | dung |
| 3 | Old French | escarn | — |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | escarnire | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skarnjan | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | skeraną | to shear |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |
Words derived from “scornful”