Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "skulk" come from? It comes from Scandinavian skulka, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "skulk" come from? It comes from Scandinavian skulka, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).
Skulk’s story begins in Scandinavian: skulka meant “to lurk, to hide.” Related to Norwegian 'skulka', to lurk. It reached English by 1200s as skulk. Settled as the English word for moving stealthily to avoid notice. Today, skulk means to move around furtively, avoiding attention, often out of guilt or fear.
- Stage 1 · Scandinavian · medieval skulka "to lurk, to hide", related to Norwegian 'skulka', to lurk.
- Stage 2 · English · 1200s skulk "to move around stealthily, avoiding notice", settled as the English word for moving stealthily to avoid notice.