sker-

I. sker-¹

Also ker-. To cut.

Derivatives include shears, scabbard, skirmish, carnage, sharp, scrape, and screw.

I. Basic form *sker-, *ker-.

1.

a. 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.

2.

a. share², from Old English scēar, 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.

3.

a. shear, from Old English scēar, scissors, from Germanic *skēr-ō and *sker-ez-;

b. compound *skēr-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 *skēr-.

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 *skr̥d-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.

9.

a. 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 carō (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 *kr̥-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 *skr̥-ā-. shore¹, from Old English scora, shore, from Germanic *skur-ō.

II. Extended roots *skert-, *kert-.

1. Zero-grade form *kr̥t- or o-grade form *kort-. cortex; decorticate, from Latin cortex, bark (< “that which can be cut off”).

2. Suffixed form *kert-snā-. cenacle, from Latin cēna, 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)-.

1.

a. sharp, from Old English scearp, sharp;

b. scarp, from Italian scarpa, embankment, possibly from a Germanic source akin to Gothic skarpō, pointed object. Both a and b from Germanic *skarpaz, cutting, sharp.

2.

a. scrap¹, from Old Norse skrap, “pieces,” remains;

b. scrape, from Old Norse skrapa, to scratch. Both a and b from Germanic *skrap-.

3.

a. 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 scrōfa, 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 *kr̥s-yo-.

 

[Pokorny 4. (s)ker-, Section I. 938.]

  II. sker-²

Also ker-. To turn, bend. Presumed base of a number of distantly related derivatives.

Derivatives include shrink, ranch, rink, curve, crepe, circle, search, and crown.

1. Extended form *(s)kreg- in nasalized form *(s)kre-n-g-.

a. shrink, from Old English scrincan, to wither, shrivel up, from Germanic *skrink-;

b. variant *kre-n-g-.

(i) ruck², from Old Norse hrukka, a crease, fold;

(ii) flounce¹, from Old French fronce, pleat, from Frankish *hrunkjan, to wrinkle. Both (i) and (ii) from Germanic *hrunk-.

2. Extended form *(s)kregh- in nasalized form *skre-n-gh-.

a. ring¹, from Old English hring, a ring;

b. ranch, range, rank¹, rink; arrange, derange, from Old French renc, reng, line, row;

c. ringhals, from Middle Dutch rinc (combining form ring-), a ring. a-c all from Germanic *hringaz, something curved, circle.

3. Extended form *kreuk-.

a. ridge, from Old English hrycg, spine, ridge;

b. rucksack, from Old High German hrukki, back. Both a and b from Germanic hrugjaz.

4. Suffixed variant form *kur-wo-. curb, curvature, curve, curvet, from Latin curvus, bent, curved.

5. Suffixed extended form *kris-ni-. crinoline, from Latin crīnis (< *crisnis), hair.

6. Suffixed extended form *kris-tā-. crest, crista, cristate, from Latin crista, tuft, crest.

7. Suffixed extended form *krip-so-. crepe, crisp, crispate, from Latin crispus (metathesized from *cripsus), curly.

8. Extended expressive form *krīss-. crissum, from Latin crīsāre, (of women) to wiggle the hips during copulation.

9. Perhaps reduplicated form *ki-kr-o-. circa, circadian, circinate, Circinus, circle, circum-, circus, cirque, search; cricoid, recherché, from Greek kirkos, krikos, a ring.

10. Suffixed o-grade form *kor-ōno-. corona, crown, koruna, krona¹, krona², krone¹, krone², from Greek korōnos, curved.

11. Suffixed variant form *kur-to. kurtosis, from Greek kurtos, convex.

 

[Pokorny 3. (s)ker- 935.]

  III. sker-³

Excrement, dung. Oldest form *sk̑er-, becoming *sker- in centum languages.

1. Suffixed unextended form *sk-ōr, alternating with *sk-n̥-. scato-, scoria, skatole, from Greek skōr (stem skat- < *sk-n̥-t-), dung.

2. Extended form *skert- in taboo metathesis *sterk-os-.

a. stercoraceous, from Latin stercus, dung;

b. variant forms *(s)terg-, *(s)treg-. dreck, from Middle High German drëc, dung, from Germanic *threkka-.

 

[Pokorny sk̑er-(d-) 947, 8. (s)ter- 1031.]

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