English
scout
Scout comes from Old French escoute ‘action of listening’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-‘to hear’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*auskoltāreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEauscultō‘to listen’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400escouter‘to listen, heed’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400escoute‘action of listening’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scout
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588scout
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-‘to hear’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*auskoltāreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEauscultō‘to listen’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400escouter‘to listen, heed’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400escoute‘action of listening’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scout
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588scout
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “An hundred horeſmen of my companie Scowting abroad vpon…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’
listen, client, loud, linn, leer, lithe, shruti, umlaut, 14 more
Another origin of scout
- Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600schûteuncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500scoute
- Englishtodayscout
Today it means
noun A person sent out to gather and bring back information; especially, one employed in war to gain information about the enemy and ground.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- / scout