"S" Word Origins

scleroderma

Origin

From New Latin sclēroderma, from Ancient Greek σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”) + δέρμα (dérma, “skin, hide”). By surface analysis, sclero- + -derma.

sclerosant

Origin

From sclerose + -ant.

sclerosis

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek sklerosis, "hardening," from skleros, "hard."

sclerotherapy

Origin

From sclero- + therapy.

Scobie

Scottish Gaelic

From a lost Perthshire settlement named with Scottish Gaelic sgolbach, "thorny place."

scoff

Middle English

From Middle English scof, likely of North Germanic origin, related to Old Norse skaup, "mockery."

scoffingly

Origin

From scoffing + -ly.

scofflaw

Origin

From scoff + law. Coined simultaneously by Mr Henry Irving Dale and Miss Kate L. Butler for a contest held in Boston in 1923 in which a word for "a lawless drinker of illegally made or illegally obtained liquor" was sought during the Prohibition era.

scold

Middle English

The verb comes from Middle English scolden; the noun is older still, possibly linked to Old Norse skald, "poet" — since medieval poets sometimes wrote biting, insulting verses.

scolder

Origin

From scold + -er.

scolding

Origin

From scold + -ing.

scoliosis

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek skoliosis, "twisting" or "torsion."

scombral

Origin

From Latin scomber, scombri (“mackerel”).

scombroid

Origin

From Ancient Greek σκόμβρος (skómbros, “tuna, mackerel”) + -oid.

sconce

Origin

From Middle English sconce, sconse (“candlestick or lantern (with screen)”), from Old French esconse (“lantern”), from Latin absconsus (“hidden”), perfect passive participle of abscondō (“hide”). Cognate with abscond.

scone

German

Originally a Scots word, possibly from Middle Low German schö̂ne, "fine flour bread," or from Scottish Gaelic sgonn, "lump."

scooch

Origin

Probably a variant of "scouch," likely influenced by the similar word "scoot."

scoop

Middle English

From Middle English scope/schoupe, borrowed from Middle Dutch words for a bucket or shovel used for bailing water, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cut or scrape."

scoot

Old Norse

Origin uncertain; possibly from Old Norse skjóta, "to shoot," or related to older English words for scampering quickly.

scooter

Origin

Formed from "scoot" plus the agent suffix "-er."

scope

Ancient Greek

From Italian scopo, "purpose," ultimately from Ancient Greek skopos, "target" — the same root that gives us "skeptic" and "spectrum."

scoping

Origin

From scope + -ing.

scopolamine

Origin

Named after the plant genus Scopolia, combined with "amine," a chemistry term for a class of nitrogen-containing compounds.

scorbutic

Origin

From early New Latin scorbūticus (“pertaining to scurvy”), from scorbūtus (“scurvy”), from French scorbut, of Germanic origin.

scorch

Middle English

From Middle English scorchen, likely an alteration of an earlier form related to Old Norse skorpna, "to shrivel up."

scorcher

Origin

From scorch + -er (agent noun suffix) or -er (descriptive suffix).

score

Old English

From Old English scoru, borrowed from Old Norse skor, "a notch or tally," related to the idea of cutting a mark for every twenty animals passing through a gate — hence the old meaning "twenty."

scorecard

Origin

From score + card.

scorer

Middle English

From Middle English.

scoria

Origin

Inherited from Middle English, from Latin scōria, from Ancient Greek σκωρία (skōría), from σκῶρ (skôr, “dung”).

scorn

Old French

From Old French escharnir, ultimately traced to a Germanic root connected to mockery or ridicule; possibly related to a separate root meaning "to shear" or "cut."

Scorpio

Ancient Greek

From Latin scorpio, "scorpion," itself from Ancient Greek skorpios.

scorpion

Ancient Greek

From Old French/Anglo-Norman scorpion, ultimately from Latin scorpio, from Ancient Greek skorpios.

Scorpius

Latin

Borrowed directly from Latin scorpius, "scorpion."

Scot

Late Latin

From Old English Scottas, "people from Ireland" (later Scotland), from Late Latin Scotti.

scotch

Middle English

From Middle English scocchen, "to cut," probably from Anglo-Norman escocher, "to notch." Despite the spelling, it is not related to "Scotch" meaning Scottish.

scotchman

Origin

Inherited from Middle English Scocheman. By surface analysis, Scotch + -man.

Scotia

Latin

From Latin Scotia, "Scotland," literally "land of the Scots" — the architectural sense is unrelated and comes from a separate Greek root for "shadow."

Scotland

Old English

From Old English Scotland, literally "land of the Scots."

Scots

Old English

From Middle Scots Scottis, from Old English Scyttisc, "Scottish."

Scotsman

Origin

From "Scots" plus "man."

Scottie

Origin

A shortened, affectionate form of the name Scott, formed with the diminutive ending -ie.

Scottish

Old English

From Old English Scyttisc, built from Scot plus the adjective ending -ish; it is a close cousin of the words Scotch and Scot.

Scotty

Origin

Formed from Scott plus the diminutive ending -y.

SCOTUS

English

An acronym of Supreme Court of the United States.

scoundrel

Origin · 1500

First recorded in the 1500s in forms like scondrel; its ultimate origin is unclear, though it may be linked to an old northern English or Scots word meaning to shrink back in fear or disgust.

scoundrelry

Origin

From scoundrel + -ry; noted in 1859.

scour

Latin

From Middle English scǒuren, probably borrowed from Dutch or Low German words meaning to clean or polish, ultimately traced back to a Latin verb meaning \"to clean off.\"