Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “scroll” come from?

Scroll comes from Middle English scrowle and scrouwe, from Old French escroe, from Frankish skraudu, from Proto-Germanic skraudō and skraudaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- and sek-.

scroll (English): A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed...

Definitions

  1. A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed...

Ancestry of “scroll”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishscrowle—
2Middle Englishscrowe—
3Old Frenchescroe—
4Latinscrofasow
5Proto-Indo-European(s)kerbʰ-to turn, curve; to turn , wind; to turn around,...
6Proto-Indo-European(s)ker-to cut off; to turn, bend
7Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever

Words derived from “scroll”

  • scrollwork
  • scrollable
  • scroller
  • handscroll
  • scrollback
  • scrolly
  • autoscrolling
  • unscroll
  • scrollery
  • inscroll
  • scrollwise
  • nanoscroll
  • autoscroll
  • backscroll
  • scrolltext
  • scroller
  • スクロール
  • scrolle
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sek- →