Where does “scrum” come from?

scrum (French) comes from English scrum, from English scrummage, from English scrimmage, from English skirmish, from Old French escarmouche, from Italian scaramuccia, from Italian schermugio.

scrum (French): scrum: A crowd of reporters and spokesperson

Definitions

  1. scrum: A crowd of reporters and spokesperson

Ancestry of “scrum”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishscrumA tightly-packed and disorderly crowd of people;...
2EnglishscrummageAn ordered formation of forwards, typically...
3EnglishscrimmageA rough fight; In some team sports, especially...
4EnglishskirmishA brief battle between small groups, usually part...
5Old Frenchescarmoucheskirmish
6Italianscaramucciaskirmish; squabble; third-person singular present...
7Italianschermugio
Every word from Italian schermugioEvery word from Italian scaramucciaEvery word from Old French escarmouche