Where does “screw” come from?

screw (Middle English) comes from Old French escroue, from Latin scrofa, from Proto-Indo-European (s)kerbʰ-, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker-, from Proto-Indo-European sek- — to cut, cut off, sever.

Ancestry of “screw”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchescrouenut, cylindrical socket, screwhole; scroll, strip...
2Latinscrofasow
3Proto-Indo-European(s)kerbʰ-to scratch, scrape
4Proto-Indo-European(s)ker-to cut off; to turn, bend
5Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever

Words derived from “screw”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European sek- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)kerbʰ- →
screw — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer