Where does “screwballish” come from?

screwballish (English) comes from English screwball, from English Ball, from Middle English bal, from Old English beall, from English beal, from Old English hyll, from Albanian hulli, from Proto-Germanic hulliz — to rise, to be tall; hill.

screwballish (English): Characteristic of a screwball, being wacky or crazy

Definitions

  1. Characteristic of a screwball, being wacky or crazy

Ancestry of “screwballish”, step by step

screwballish traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English screwball

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishscrewballA pitch thrown with added pressure by the index...
2EnglishBallsurname
3Middle EnglishbalA ball; A rounded or spherical lump or bump,...
4Old Englishbeallball
5EnglishbealA small inflammatory tumor; pustule; To gather...
6Old Englishhyllhill
7Albanianhullifurrow
8Proto-Germanichullizhill
9Proto-Indo-Europeankl̥Hníshill
10Proto-Indo-EuropeankelH-to rise, to be tall; hill

via English ish

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishishPronunciation spelling of is; somewhat,...
2English-ishTypical of, similar to, being like; Somewhat,...
3Middle English-ishAlternative form of -yssh
4Old English-isċ-ish
5Proto-West Germanic-iskCreates adjectives from nouns
6Proto-Germanic-iskazForms adjectives from nouns with the sense of...
7Proto-Indo-European-iskosCharacteristic of, typical of, pertaining to
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kelH-
screwballish — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer