Where does “scurrying” come from?
Scurrying derives from English scurry, likely from the reduplicative English hurry-skurry, which combines English hurry from Old English -ing and Old English -ung, both descended from Proto-Germanic -ungō, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European ḱers-.
scurrying (English): present participle of scurry; The motion of...
Definitions
- present participle of scurry; The motion of...
Ancestry of “scurrying”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 2 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 3 | Old English | -tūn | — |
| 4 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 7 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 8 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |