Where does “scruffy” come from?

Scruffy derives from Middle English scruff with the diminutive suffix -y, from Middle French -ie, ultimately tracing through Latin -ia and -ivus back to Proto-Indo-European -kos.

scruffy (English): Untidy in appearance; Scurfy; An artificial...

Definitions

  1. Untidy in appearance; Scurfy; An artificial...

Ancestry of “scruffy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
2Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
3Old English-iġ-y, -ic
4Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
5Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
6Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →Every word from English -y →Every word from Old English -iġ →