Where does “smokescreen” come from?
Smokescreen comes from English screen, Middle English scren, Old English smoca, Middle Dutch scherm, Old Dutch skirm, and Proto-Germanic skirmiz, ultimately deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root (s)ker- meaning to cut or separate.
smokescreen (English): Smoke used as a disguise, mask or cover, as of...
Definitions
- Smoke used as a disguise, mask or cover, as of...
Ancestry of “smokescreen”, step by step
smokescreen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English screen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | screen | A physical divider intended to block an area from... |
| 2 | Middle English | scren | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | escren | firescreen, the tester of a bed; Alternative form... |
| 4 | Old French | escren | Alternative form of escran |
| 5 | Middle Dutch | scherm | protective screen; protection, cover |
| 6 | Old Dutch | skirm | protection |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | skirmi | fur, hide, pelt; covering, shelter, screen |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | skirmiz | fur, hide, pelt; covering, shelter, screen |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |