Where does “scryvener” come from?
scryvener (Middle English) comes from Anglo-Norman scrivein, from Old French escrivain, from Vulgar Latin scriba, from Latin scriba, from Latin -a, from Proto-Italic -ā, from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂.
Ancestry of “scryvener”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anglo-Norman | scrivein | professional penman, copyist |
| 2 | Old French | escrivain | writer |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | scriba | — |
| 4 | Latin | scriba | writer, scribe, secretary, clerk |
| 5 | Latin | -a | suffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -ā | Forms masculine agent nouns from prefixed or compounded bases |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂ | — |