Where does “screenwriting” come from?
Screenwriting derives from English screen and writing, with screen tracing back through Old French escran, Middle Dutch scherm, and Old Dutch skirm to Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to turn or cut.
screenwriting (English): The art of writing screenplays
Definitions
- The art of writing screenplays
Ancestry of “screenwriting”, step by step
screenwriting traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English screen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | screen | A physical divider intended to block an area from... |
| 2 | Middle English | scren | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | escren | firescreen, the tester of a bed; Alternative form... |
| 4 | Old French | escren | Alternative form of escran |
| 5 | Middle Dutch | scherm | protective screen; protection, cover |
| 6 | Old Dutch | skirm | protection |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | skirmi | fur, hide, pelt; covering, shelter, screen |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | skirmiz | fur, hide, pelt; covering, shelter, screen |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |
via English writing
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | writing | Graphism of symbols such as letters that express... |
| 2 | Middle English | writing | — |
| 3 | Old English | wrīting | writing |
| 4 | Old English | wrītan | to incise, engrave; to scratch, carve, write; to... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | wrītan | to scratch, to carve |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | wrītaną | to scratch, carve; to engrave, inscribe, write |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |