English
scrabble
Scrabble comes from Middle Dutch schrabbelen.
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500schrabbelen
- Englishearliest quotation 1611scrabble
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500schrabbelen
- Englishearliest quotation 1611scrabble
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “David […] scrabbled on the doors of the gate.”
Formed from scrab + -le
Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- ‘to scratch’
Proto-Germanic *skabaną ‘to shave, to scrape’
Frankish *skaban
Old French schrabben ‘to scrape, scratch’
English scrab
Every English word from Middle Dutch schrabbelen
Today it means
verb To scrape or scratch powerfully with hands or claws.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle Dutch schrabbelen / scrabble