Where does “scour” come from?

Scour comes from Middle English scouren, from Middle Dutch scuren, from Old French escurer, from Proto-Germanic skūrō combined with Latin ex, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European eǵ-.

scour (English): To clean, polish, or wash something by rubbing...

Definitions

  1. To clean, polish, or wash something by rubbing...

Ancestry of “scour”, step by step

scour traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Norse skúr

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norseskúrshower
2Middle Low Germanschūr—
3Proto-Germanicskūrōstorm; short shower; shelter, shack
4Proto-Indo-European(s)ḱēwer-north; north wind; cold wind; rain shower

via Middle English scǒuren

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishscǒuren—
2Middle Englishscǒur—
3Old Norseskýrato rush in

Words derived from “scour”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)ḱēwer- →
scour — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer