Where does “sharpshoot” come from?
sharpshoot (English) comes from English sharpshooter, from German Scharfschütze, from German scharf, from Middle High German scharpf, from Old High German scarf, from Proto-West Germanic skarp, from Proto-Germanic skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kerb- — to caw, crow.
sharpshoot (English): To shoot with precision
Ancestry of “sharpshoot”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | sharpshooter | A person trained to shoot precisely with a rifle;... |
| 2 | German | Scharfschütze | sniper |
| 3 | German | scharf | sharp; able to cut; sharp; sharp; in focus |
| 4 | Middle High German | scharpf | — |
| 5 | Old High German | scarf | sharp |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | skarp | sharp |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | skarpaz | rough |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kerb- | rough, sharp |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |