Where does “scrawly” come from?
scrawly (English) comes from English scrawl, from Middle English scraulen, from Middle English crawlen, from Old Norse krafla, from Proto-Germanic krablōną, from Proto-Germanic krabbōną, from Proto-Indo-European gerbʰ-, from Proto-Indo-European ger- — to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind...
scrawly (English): Written in the manner of a scrawl, written...
Definitions
- Written in the manner of a scrawl, written...
Ancestry of “scrawly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | scrawl | Irregular, possibly illegible handwriting; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | scraulen | to spread out one's limbs; sprawl; to crawl |
| 3 | Middle English | crawlen | to crawl |
| 4 | Old Norse | krafla | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | krablōną | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | krabbōną | to scratch, scrape |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gerbʰ- | to carve |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ger- | to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind... |