scare

Where does the word "scare" come from? It comes from Old Norse skirra, passing through Middle English before entering English (1590s).

Scare’s story begins in Old Norse: skirra meant “to frighten; to shrink from, avert.” Meant to frighten off or avert danger. By late 1100s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as skerren. Borrowed into northern dialects as a verb for sudden fright. It reached English by 1590s as scare. Spelling altered unusually from 'sker-' to 'scar-'. Today, scare means to frighten someone suddenly, or a moment of sudden fright.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval skirra "to frighten; to shrink from, avert", meant to frighten off or avert danger.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · late 1100s skerren "to frighten someone", borrowed into northern dialects as a verb for sudden fright.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1590s scare "to frighten suddenly", spelling altered unusually from 'sker-' to 'scar-'.