scurry etymology

Etymology

• Middle English: (of a person) run or rush hastily or furtively; (of an animal) run or move quickly with short, hurried steps
• Old French: escurer, escurrir ("to scour, wipe")
• Vulgar Latin: *excutāre ("to sift out, clean")
• Latin: excutere ("to shake out, remove")

Meaning

To move quickly and furtively, especially with short, hurried steps.

Origin

The word "scurry" comes from the Vulgar Latin word excutāre, which means "to sift out, clean". This word is itself derived from the Latin word excutere, which means "to shake out, remove". The sense of "to move quickly and furtively" developed in Middle English, probably influenced by the similar-sounding word "scurrying", which refers to the sound made by a small animal running quickly.

scurry relate terms

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