English
escrupulo
Escrupulo comes from Spanish escrúpulo ‘scruple’, and goes back to Latin scrūpus ‘sharp stone, anxiety’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrūpus‘sharp stone, anxiety’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrūpulus‘scruple, nagging doubt, ¹⁄₂₄ uncia’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentescrúpulo‘scruple’
- Englishtodayescrupulo
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrūpus‘sharp stone, anxiety’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrūpulus‘scruple, nagging doubt, ¹⁄₂₄ uncia’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentescrúpulo‘scruple’
- Englishtodayescrupulo
The story
Unadapted borrowing from Spanish escrúpulo, from Latin scrūpulus (‘scruple, nagging doubt, ¹⁄₂₄ uncia’), from scrūpus (‘sharp stone, anxiety’) + -ulus (‘-ule: forming diminutives’).
Linked words
through Latin scrūpulus ‘scruple, nagging doubt, ¹⁄₂₄ uncia’
Today it means
noun A traditional Spanish unit of mass, equivalent to about 1.2 g and chiefly used for medicines.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin scrūpus / escrupulo