| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
Appendix I Indo-European Roots |
| ENTRY: | sker-1 |
| DEFINITION: | Also ker-. To cut. Derivatives include shears, scabbard, skirmish, carnage, sharp, scrape, and screw. I. Basic form *sker-, *ker-. 1a. shear, from Old English scieran, sceran, to cut; b. sheer1, from Low German scheren, to move to and fro, and Dutch scheren, to withdraw, depart. Both a and b from Germanic *skeran. 2a. share2, from Old English sc  ar, plowshare; b. share1, from Old English scearu, scaru, portion, division (but recorded only in the sense of “fork of the body,” “tonsure”). Both a and b from Germanic *skeraz. 3a. shear, from Old English scar, scissors, from Germanic *skr- and *sker-ez-; b. compound *skr-berg-, “sword protector,” scabbard (*berg-, protector; see bhergh-1). scabbard, from Old French escauberc, scabbard, possibly from a Germanic source akin to Old High German scarberc, scabbard. Both a and b from Germanic *skr-. 4. score, from Old Norse skor, notch, tally, twenty, from Germanic *skur-. 5. scar2, skerry, from Old Norse sker, low reef (< “something cut off”), from Germanic suffixed form *skar-jam. 6. Suffixed o-grade extended form *skorp-o-. scarf2, from Old Norse skarfr, diagonally-cut end of a board, from Germanic *skarfaz. 7. Suffixed o-grade extended form *skord-o-. shard, from Old English sceard, a cut, notch, from Germanic *skardaz. 8. Extended form *skerd- in suffixed zero-grade form *sk d-o-. a. short, from Old English scort, sceort, “cut,” short; b. shirt, from Old English scyrte, skirt (< “cut piece”); c. skirt, from Old Norse skyrta, shirt. a–c all from Germanic *skurtaz. 9a. scaramouch, scrimmage, skirmish, from Old French eskermir, to fight with a sword, fence, and Old Italian scaramuccia, skirmish, from a source akin to Old High German skirmen, to protect; b. screen, from Middle Dutch scherm, shield. Both a and b from Germanic extended form *skerm-. 10. Variant form *kar-. carnage, carnal, carnassial, carnation, carnival, carrion, caruncle, charnel, crone; carnivorous, charcuterie, incarnate, from Latin car (stem carn-), flesh. 11. Suffixed o-grade form *kor-yo-. coriaceous, corium, cuirass, currier; excoriate, from Latin corium, leather (originally “piece of hide”). 12. Suffixed zero-grade form *k-to-. curt, curtal, kirtle, from Latin curtus, short. 13. Suffixed o-grade form *kor-mo-. corm, from Greek kormos, a trimmed tree trunk. 14. Suffixed o-grade form *kor-i-. coreopsis, from Greek koris, bedbug (< “cutter”). 15. Suffixed zero-grade form *sk- -. shore1, from Old English scora, shore, from Germanic *skur-.II. Extended roots *skert-, *kert-. 1. Zero-grade form *k t- or o-grade form *kort-. cortex; decorticate, from Latin cortex, bark (< “that which can be cut off”). 2. Suffixed form *kert-sn-. cenacle, from Latin cna, meal (< “portion of food”).III. Extended root *skerp-. scurf, probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old English sceorf, scab, scurf, from Germanic *skerf-. IV. Extended root *skerb(h)-, *skreb(h)-. 1a. sharp, from Old English scearp, sharp; b. scarp, from Italian scarpa, embankment, possibly from a Germanic source akin to Gothic skarp , pointed object. Both a and b from Germanic *skarpaz, cutting, sharp. 2a. scrap1, from Old Norse skrap, “pieces,” remains; b. scrape, from Old Norse skrapa, to scratch. Both a and b from Germanic *skrap-. 3a. scrabble, from Middle Dutch schrabben, to scrape; b. scrub1, from Middle Dutch schrobben, to scrape. Both a and b from Germanic *skrab-. 4. shrub1, from Old English scrybb, shrub (< “rough plant”), from Germanic *skrub-. 5. scrobiculate, from Latin scrobis, trench, ditch. 6. screw, scrofula, from Latin scrfa, a sow (< “rooter, digger”).V. Extended root *(s)kers-. bias, from Greek epikarsios, at an angle (epi-, at; see epi), from suffixed zero-grade form *k s-yo-. (Pokorny 4. (s)ker-, Section I. 938.) |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. | |
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